Loving You
by Loves to dance
Summary: Set during Lily and James's final year at Hogwarts, the two first find friendship and soon love in each other. However, there are plenty of bumps along the way!
1. Back to School

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

Lily Evans stared out the window of her dad's car. She watched for familiar signs, waiting for one to say "King's Cross Station next exit."

It was September 1, 1975 and it was Lily's final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was so excited to go back. It's not that she didn't enjoy being with her family, she just severely missed her friends. Plus, this year was going to be incredible. Lily had been made Head Girl, and she was willing to bet that Chandler Whitney would be Head Boy. Secretly she hoped it was him, he was so sweet and easy to talk to. Lily didn't have a crush on him or anything; he was just one of the nicest boys she met. Besides, many of the other prefects were past boyfriends of hers or her friends, and that might be a little awkward.

Lily's thoughts had been so preoccupied about how she missed her friends, she didn't even realize that King's Cross was only five minutes away.

All of a sudden, the car pulled into a parking spot. Lily was jerked back into reality. She was just moments away from seeing her friends!

Lily's parents helped her with her bags and walked with her to platform 9 ¾. Lily stood there with the most unusual luggage, at least to someone who was not acquainted with magic. She had a large trunk filled with clothes and school books. She also had two pets with her. A snowy owl named Delicia, and a white cat named Macie.

"Okay Lily, have a fun year at school. And make sure to write about everything that's happening," Lily's mom, Alexandra, had engulfed Lily into a humongous hug. For a petite woman, she had bone-breaking hugs whenever Lily was leaving for school. Alexandra's dark red hair, which Lily had inherited, was blocking Lily's view of the train station.

"Mum, you can let go now," Lily pleaded.

As her mom slowly let her go, Lily's dad gave a smile of encouragement. Then he to, gathered her into a hug, though it was slightly less bone-breaking.

"Have fun Lils, and make us proud," Richard Evans told his daughter.

"And write as soon as you get settled in your room so we know you got there okay," Alexandra called out in a motherly fashion.

"I will," Lily promised. "And, mum, dad, can you tell Petunia that I say goodbye?"

"Of course honey."

"Bye!" Lily called before she ran through the barrier.

The next second she was looking at the train for Hogwarts. Oh, it felt so good to be going back.

Now all she needed was to find her friends. Lily gathered her belongings and headed into the train. Now all that was left was to find the right compartment. And with so many people and so many compartments, that was going to be difficult.

"LILY!" she turned to see a girl with shoulder length brown hair and blue-green eyes. The girl had a gigantic smile, showing her perfectly white teeth.

"GRACIE!" Lily was so excited to see one of her best friends in the entire world.

The two girls embraced and turned to the compartment next to them. They were both tired of looking for the others. Everyone could find them, it wouldn't be too hard.

The girls chatted a bit, still waiting for their other friends. Neither wanted to have to listen and/or tell summer stories multiple times, so they waited.

"Holy shit this place is packed. If you hadn't spent so much freaking time on her hair and make-up we would have been here 20 minutes ago. And now we can't find a compartment." That was none other than the voice of Zoë Sutton, another good friend of Lily's.

"Who cares? We're here now, aren't we? And besides, I had to look my best. I mean last year, I didn't, and I didn't have as many boyfriends that year as in our fifth year. So I have to look good so that I'll be able to get a boyfriend." That was none other than the voice of Zoë's twin sister, Marissa.

"No Marissa, the reason you didn't get as many guys last year, it because you dated half the school during fifth year." Lily looked up and noticed that Gracie had opened the compartment door to make the comment toward Marissa.

Marissa nearly jumped five feet in the air with excitement. "Gracie! Lily!" I missed you guys so much. She ran into the compartment, her brown eyes leaping with joy. Marissa gave them each a hug, but not too tight, she didn't want her outfit to be messed up.

Zoë followed her into the compartment and hugged them both after Marissa was done.

Lily couldn't help but smile at how different the twins were. Although they were identical twins, they were nothing alike. Zoë was athletic, being one of two girls to make the Gryffindor Quiditch team. She really didn't care too much for make-up, just a light natural touch.

Marissa on the other hand was quite prissy and a flirt. You could ask her any question about make-up, hair, clothing styles, and you could depend on her for the best answer. Even her hairstyle made her look more upbeat and prissy than her sister. She curled it every morning in loose curls, giving it a nice bounce to her normally straight hair.

Despite the differences, they got along awesomely together. They were best friends, and told each other everything. It was funny how complete opposites can make the best matches.

Now the only person that they were waiting for was Scarlett Dalton. Scarlett, in Lily's

mind could have been a supermodel. She was the tallest of the five friends, reaching 5'8", and had the most gorgeous eyes in the world. They were icy blue, and always had a certain look that always kept guys guessing. Her slim figure and black hair against her pale skin made her look even more beautiful. Scarlett had even mastered an elegance to her poise that made her look even more astonishing.

Sure enough, as if the world had read Lily's mind, Scarlett walked into the compartment. "Scarlett!" All four girls screamed at once.

"It's good to see you all too!" Scarlett exclaimed.

Now that heir fifth member had finally arrived, they could begin talking about their fabulous summers.

"Okay, so I haven't seen any one of you guys since July. You've got to fill me in on your summers," Gracie told the group.

"Okay," Marissa began, she always loved being the center of attention and started the stories about her life. "I saw the hottest guy in the whole world while we were in Venice."

"Oh, not him again," Zoë pleaded. Apparently she had heard enough about him over the summer.

"Shut up… Anyways, back to my story, before I was _rudely_ interrupted. So, we were in Venice, at a little restaurant, and this drop dead gorgeous guy comes up. I swear to God, he was totally checking me out."

"He wasn't checking you out, he was taking your order," Zoë interrupted.

"No, he kept on looking at me," Marissa explained smugly.

"Marissa, for the millionth time, he was the waiter. It's his job to make sure you're having a good time." Zoë gave the other girls a look that said I've been telling her this all along, she just won't listen.

The twins continued on like this for a little while before Zoë finally broke down and let Marissa have her way. Marissa always was stubborn about getting her own way.

"Anything else happen with you guys?" Scarlett asked.

"Well, now that you bring it up, I got a summer job," Marissa said. The faces of three of the girls dropped. This couldn't be true, Marissa, the girl who didn't like to do anything, got a job. Impossible. "Yeah, I was interning at a magazine company. I think I could get a job there once school is over." The girls were now truly in a state of shock, Marissa actually thinking about the future and making a commitment.

After recovering from Marissa's announcement, the conversation went by smoothly. That is until Lily got to talking.

"You'll never guess the exciting news!" Lily exclaimed.

"Lils, we already know that you got Head Girl," Gracie told her.

"No, not that. It's about Petunia. She's engaged!" Lily had a gigantic smile on her face. She loved her sister so much. Despite Petunia being rude, mean, bossy, and degrading toward Lily and any other magical person.

"Lils, that great. You won't have to deal with her in the house anymore," Gracie said, trying to find what was so great about it. She personally, along with the rest of Lily's friends, hated Petunia. She was horrible to Lily, rude to them when they visited, and not to be offensive, but she looked like a horse. Who could possibly love her?

Lily chose to ignore Gracie's comment and went into details about the engagement. "I'm so excited for Petunia. She really deserves someone for her own. I'm so happy for her! And the man she marrying, Vernon, he's a really interesting person. And he's very successful."

The others couldn't help but notice Lily's comments about him; _he's an interesting person, very successful_. The girls knew Lily almost as well as she knew herself. Lily could always find a nice comment to say about anybody. But her remarks toward Vernon, if that was the only nice thing she could come up with, then maybe Petunia did deserve him. Two horrible people living together, why not?

Everyone was pretty shocked about the announcement, to say the least, but soon enough the lady with the cart of snacks came by and each of the girls bought some food to share. With snacks in hand, they continued on chatting and catching up with each other's lives.

**Author's Note:** I hope you like the story so far. Please review!


	2. Head Boy

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

* * *

.

Before Lily knew it, she was walking the halls of the train toward the Head's compartment. Now she would know for sure who the Head Boy was going to be.

Lily turned the handle to find none other than James Potter sitting on a luxurious, red couch. He looked up as she came in and grinned at her.

"Lily, so you made Head Girl. Congratulations," James told her.

"You can't be in here," she said bluntly.

"Oh and why not? I'm Head Boy."

The words stung her like a bee. He couldn't be serious. What did she do to deserve this? What had Dumbledore been thinking when he made James Potter the Head Boy? Then another thought entered her mind, she actually had to spend time with him. This couldn't be happening. Not to her, she was too nice for something this horrible to happen to her.

"You've got to be shiting me," was the response she used.

At that James laughed. "Lily Evans, the new Head Girl cursing. Never knew you had it in you."

"I'm serious, get out. You don't belong here. There must have been a mistake. You are the most irresponsible, trouble-making person I have ever met," she said furiously.

"Hey, that is no way to talk to a fellow student, let alone your Head partner," James teased.

She sent him a glare that was more or less reserved just for him. James must have been on the receiving line of the glare about one thousand times.

Luckily, for the both of them, the prefects came one by one into the compartment. This put an end to the little incident, Lily didn't want other students to see her fighting with James, especially on the first day.

Lily quickly explained the importance of prefects as role models to other students, keeping students in line, and most of all the perks. The perks being the prefect's bathroom.

Once that was finally done with, Lily sent some people to roam the halls, making sure nothing inappropriate was occurring. Then Lily hastily went back to the compartment shared with her friends.

Lily pulled the door open and slammed it shut behind her. "Do you know who the Head Boy is," Lily asked with a somewhat crazed expression on her face and in her voice.

None of her friends had responded, just stared up at her dumbly.

"Potter!" Lily exclaimed. "That dratted, ass of man is the Head Boy." Lily nodded her head violently to get her point across. She was definitely freaking out about this. Her eyes were wide, and she looked as if she would bite the head off of anyone that crossed her path.

"Lils, calm down," Zoë began, but was quickly cut off.

"Calm down, CALM DOWN! You're telling me to calm down? I can't calm down! This is James Potter I'm talking about. The guy that has asked me out hundreds of times, only to be rejected. The guy that put jello in my hair so I would give him attention. The guy who is an arrogant, asshole who can't get enough of himself. So, let me tell you, I will NOT calm down!"

"Lily, just hear me out," Zoë pleaded.

"But…"

"Shush. Listen to me. I know him quite a lot better than you do. On the quidditch field during practices, he can be a really nice guy," Zoë told her.

"No he…,"

"Shut up, I'm not done. And at the end of last year, he changed a little. Remember, the only person he hexed was Snape, who deserves it," she reasoned.

"But…"

"Did I tell you that you could talk yet? No, so let me finish," Zoë snapped. "Lily, all he wants is for you to like him, just give him another chance. He can be pretty decent sometimes."

Lily couldn't believe her ears, Zoë was actually standing up for Potter. Zoë was her friend, why was she standing up for him? It was that damn quidditch game. Why did she have to be on the team? If Zoë hadn't gotten to know Potter and somewhat befriend him, then she would be agreeing with Lily that he was a horrible jackass.

The others could sense the tension building up between their two friends. "Okay, now on to a happier note," Gracie tried.

All the others were now looking at her, expecting her to say something 'on the happier note.'

"Why are you all looking at me?" she questioned.

"What are you going to say that's happy?" Marissa asked.

"Nothing. I just wanted someone to say something that would get people's minds off of Potter," she explained.

"Alright. Next time you might want to have something to say. Cause now we need something happy to talk about," Marissa told her.

"Alright! That's enough of that pointless conversation," Lily exclaimed.

---

"Okay Prongs, tell me again," Remus Lupin told one of his best friends.

"I didn't say anything that would make her angry with me, I swear," James Potter responded. "I mean, I said 'Congratulations.' Then she told me I couldn't be there and I told her that I could because I was Head Boy. Then she got mad at me."

"Honestly Prongs, just get over Evans already," Sirius Black advised his best friend, "And that Peter, is checkmate." Sirius and their other friend, Peter, had just been playing Wizards Chess.

"Get over her! I can't do that, she's too perfect to get over," James exclaimed.

"Okay, I get it, no need for you to go on about how pretty, or how nice, or how smart Evans is. I got enough of that during the summer," Sirius said.

"You know, I really don't understand why you've been chasing after Evans. I mean, you could have any other girl in the school, even some of the Slytherins if you wanted," Peter chipped in.

"No, I want her, not some other girl," James responded.

These four boys made up the Marauders, the most trouble-making, yet charming people in school. In fact, the whole school knew who they were. The guys wanted to be them, and the girls wanted to date them.

Sirius Black was easily one of the most liked guys in school. He could manage to charm his way out of anything. He even managed to get out of a few detentions. His smile made girls' hearts skip a beat, he was simply that attractive. Girls swooned over how his hair made him have a slightly bad boy appearance. He could even make a girl forget what a player he was while he was with her.

Remus Lupin was the most responsible member of their group. He studied hard, and didn't hex as many people as James and Sirius. However, he did love to roam the Hogwarts grounds with his friends. Remus' darkest secret was the he was a werewolf. His friends had discovered this and had become animangi to help him through the time. His secret is what really brought the Marauders even closer together.

Peter Pettigrew, James' other friend, was not one that most would expect in the group. He was slightly smaller than the rest of the group, and not nearly as attractive. However, he did remain an amazing friend to the Marauders. (At least throughout their time at Hogwarts.) Peter wasn't quite as intelligent as the others as well. They were always helping him with homework and even helping him get dates.

And quite suddenly, the door to their compartment flew open and the girl who they had recently been talking about came scurrying in.

"Okay. Potter, tell me how you did it. Did your parents pay Dumbledore until he let you become Head Boy? Or did you put a spell on Dumbledore, forcing him to give the position to you?" Lily asked with fury in her striking green eyes.

"What are you talking about Lily? I didn't do anything to Dumbledore to _make_ him pick me for Head Boy," James responded.

"Ah ha! Nothing to Dumbledore, then you must have hexed some poor kid until he forfeited the job over to you. I knew it, there's no way you were chosen as Head Boy."

"What?" James asked, he was mortified that she would think he would do something like that. "I wouldn't do that. I got Head Boy because Dumbledore chose me. You can ask him why I got it if you'd like." Truth be told, James was secretly wondering how he had become Head Boy as well. He was always breaking the rules and he was never a prefect. But James wasn't about to admit that to Lily.

"Okay then, I will. Soon as we get to Hogwarts," Lily told him. Then, "Black, why are you looking at me?"

"I was just noticing how good summer was to you," he responded with a grin.

Lily had a look of disgust on her face. She honestly felt like slapping him across the face, but decided against it. Instead she gave him a death glare and stomped out the room.

"Padfoot, why did you say that?" James asked. "Now she's going to hate you."

"Don't worry about it, you see, she'll be so mad about my comment, that she won't be mad at you."

James thought about that for a moment, "Padfoot, thanks."

"No problem, but man, summer did do her good."

James gave him a look that said 'you touch her, you die.'

"Prongs, don't worry about it. I would never go after her, she's all yours," Sirius assured his friend.

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**Author's Note: **Hi everyone, I hope you all liked chapter 2! I promise that Lily and James are getting together soon; I don't like writing that they are mad at each other! Please review and tell me what you think!


	3. The Sorting

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks (Erin)J.E.A.R.K.Potter for reviewing this story. It means a lot to me!

* * *

Soon enough the train had come to a stop and the students were heading toward the Great Hall. Students sat down at their respected tables, waiting for the sorting to begin.

Lily remembered how nervous she had been. After all, she was muggle born and knew nothing about the sorting. She figured that they sorted you into a house depending on how many spells you already knew. Thankfully that was not the case; instead there was an old, raggedy hat. Once it was placed on your head, it began to see your potential and qualities. 'Bright you are missy, yes very bright indeed. Ravenclaw might work for you. But you're brave as well. Always seeing the good in others, sticking up for others. I think I'll put you in GRYFFINDOR.' She never forgot what the sorting hat had told her.

Lily watched as a small boy with blonde hair walk up toward the hat. He looked very timid, scared at what was happening. The hat sat on the boy's head for quite sometime, everyone in the Great Hall had their eyes on him. "Hufflepuff," the hat announced. The entire Hufflepuff table burst out into a giant applause.

Next was a girl with jet black hair. She, unlike the boy in front of her looked confident. The hat was barely on her head when it said," Gryffindor." Lily applauded with the rest of her house. Her eyes wandered to Potter and his friends. It looked as though James was clapping especially hard for her. Hmm, she wondered. Did Potter have a sister?

The rest of the first years were sorted into one of the four houses, and the feast finally began. Once Lily had eaten as much food as possible, she decided to introduce herself to the new students. After all, if they had any problems they could come and see her.

"Hello and welcome to Hogwarts," Lily began. "My name is Lily Evans, I'm the Head Girl this year."

"Evans?" The girl with the jet black hair asked.

"Yes, that would be me. I would prefer you to call me Lily though, not Evans."

The girl let out a slight giggle, "No, I wasn't calling you Evans. I was remembering where I heard it before. And I remember now, my cousin, James Potter, talked about all the time over the summer."

Lily felt her face go red, why had everything always come to Potter?

She decided to ignore the girl's comment. "Well, I just wanted to tell you that if you need any help with anything, you can let me know."

After chatting with the new first years for a little while, Lily returned back to her own seat. She still couldn't believe what that little girl, she learned her name was Jacqui, had said about Potter talking about her.

It wasn't long until everyone, including Sirius, had become stuffed with food. Not a single person could fit another bite into their mouths.

Dumbledore soon excused everyone from the Great Hall and told them to go to their respected dormitories.

"Follow me, first years, this way to Gryffindor," Lily called. Unfortunately, not all of them had been paying attention to her. "Potter, do you think that it's possible that you could help me?" Her attention turned to James.

James nodded and said, "This way to Gryffindor, follow the beautiful girl with the red hair." He noticed her frown at the remark and made a mental note not to flatter her front of large groups again.

Lily hated it when he did that. In front of all the students in Gryffindor, old and new. However, at least it got their attention. The students followed her up the many stairs and down multiple corridors.

Once they had reached their destination, Lily told the entire group the password to get passed the Fat Lady and into the common room. The password was 'shinkleton.'

With her duties finally over, Lily went up to her dorm room and collapsed on her bed. She quickly shut her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

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**Author's Note 2: **Sorry this chapter is kind of short, I wanted to make a new chapter for the next idea. Please review!


	4. The Worst First Day

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

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The next morning Lily awoke to find her cat, Macie, sitting on her lap. "Macie, what do you want?" she asked the cat. Macie continued sitting on her lap, just looking at her. Lily finally sat up and pulled Macie off of her.

"Well, now that I'm up, I guess I should go take a shower," she said this aloud, although nobody but Lily, Macie, and Marissa's cat Lexi were awake.

After showering and getting ready for classes, Lily headed down to the common room. It was only 6:00, and classes didn't start until 8:00. She couldn't even go to have an early breakfast because it wasn't served for another hour.

Lily decided to grab her book and head down to the common room for a bit of reading. She sat down in one of her favorite chairs. It was tall enough to hide herself from lingering eyes, and comfortable enough to fall asleep in.

After reading about twenty pages of Gone With The Wind, she heard someone come down the stairs. She arched her head backward, looking toward the Girls' staircase. She saw no one, the person must be some guy wandering out of bed.

And then she heard it.

"Moony, what's the best way to get Evans to like me?" It was none other than James Potter.

Lily stayed in her chair for a moment, wanting to hear the response. "Well, Prongs, I honestly don't know. All girls are different," Remus answered.

Lily jumped up from her chair and pointed a finger at James, "You want to know the best way to get me?" she questioned.

James nodded, actually thinking that she had finally started to like him. Unfortunately, he missed the anger rising in her voice.

"You will never get me Potter," she emphasized on the 'never.' "And you want to know why? It's because you are too involved with yourself to understand the concept that I cannot stand being in the same bloody room with you."

With that said Lily stomped back up to her dorm. It was only 6:40 and Potter had already managed to get under her skin. She could just tell that her first day of classes was not going to be fun.

And she didn't realize how right she was.

---

Lily's first class of the day was Potions, which was shared with the Slytherins. Not only that, but it was a double block of Potions with the Slytherins.

"Now class, first I would like to say welcome back to Hogwarts for you final year. You will be learning many potions, including death and healing potions. It will be a very serious year and I will not stand for any misbehavior in my class this year," Professor Rander told the class. And then added as an after thought, "You need to pass my class to graduate, which will not be easy for most of you."

"Jeez, who would think that she might actually say something nice on the first day of classes," Scarlett whispered into Lily's ear, Lily detected a great amount of sarcasm in her voice.

" Dalton, Evans, do you wish to share with the rest of the class?" Rander asked the girls.

"Sorry Professor Rander," they said in synchrony.

"That is nice, but you didn't answer the question," was the response.

They looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

"Looking at each other won't give me an answer any sooner you know," Rander said coldly.

Lily could hear the Slytherins trying to conceal their laughter.

"No Professor, I wouldn't like to share with the class," Scarlett told the teacher. Lily was amazed at this; Scarlett was holding her ground to the meanest teacher at Hogwarts. Scarlett wasn't even blinking, just looking the professor straight in the eye.

"Very well, ten points from Gryffindor each for being rude," Rander announced.

"Each?" Lily asked. Then she realized her mistake, she should not have said that. Rander hated it when people talked back to her, especially anyone that wasn't in Slytherin House.

"Actually, I think I'll make that 15 points each from Gryffindor," snarled Rander, "And you have Miss Evans' ignorance to account for the extra points taken off."

Lily's jaw almost dropped, she had just lost her house an extra ten points, along with the 20 points before her comment. That was 30 points in total. Now they were in negative numbers!

---

Unfortunately for Lily her day didn't improve. She stayed quiet during the rest of her classes, not even raising her hand to answer questions.

She was having one of the worst days of her life. Lily remembered her thoughts the day before, 'this is going to be the best year ever.' It was only the second day there and she was already proven wrong.

---

During dinner that night, Lily sat down and slopped food onto her plate.

"Lily, cheer up," Gracie told her. "It's not the end of the world. I mean, so you lost a few points. It's no big deal. I've lost plenty of points before."

"Not on the first day though," Lily complained.

"No, but I've lost them before."

"Gracie, you're not helping the matter," Zoë said, and Lily couldn't help but think that the response was her thoughts exactly.

"Listen Lils, I've lost one hundred points in one night once. Don't feel bad," Marissa added to the conversation.

Lily looked at her with interest, "Go on."

"You want me to tell the story?" Marissa asked.

Lily nodded her head.

"Okay. Well, it's not something that I'm proud of," Marissa began. "Last year, when I was dating Randy, you know that really hot guy that graduated last year."

"Yeah, we know him," Gracie cut her off.

"Okay. Well, we were out past hours one night. And we ducked into McGonagall's classroom. And we started snogging, and well, one thing led to another." Marissa was turning slightly pink by revealing the information. "And for some reason McGonagall came into the classroom. And she was very pleased at what she saw."

All four girls gaped at what Marissa had told them.

"You did it in McGonagall's classroom?" Zoë asked.

Marissa turned a brighter shade of red and nodded her head.

"What table was it?" Gracie asked, a look of horror on her face.

"I can't remember," Marissa responded.

"Oh my God! I could have been sitting at the very table. I could have fallen asleep where you did it! Oh my God, that's disgusting!" Gracie exclaimed.

"Shut up already. I don't want the whole fucking school to know about it," Marissa told her urgently.

Lily laughed, now that did make her feel better about losing points on the first day of classes. It disturbed her quite a bit as well, but it made her feel better about herself.

However that feeling did not last for very long. James Potter had chosen that exact moment to walk up to Lily.

"Hello Lily," he said, a smile present on his face.

"What do you want Potter," she asked irritably.

"Just wanted to say sorry about this morning, down in the common room. It was completely out of line."

"Yes, it was," she agreed.

Clearly this was not the answer he was hoping for. "And Lily, I'm very sorry about Rander. She's really an ass."

Lily looked at him, fury was once again in her eyes. "Is that why you came over here? To taunt me for losing all those points? Don't you think that I feel bad enough without you rubbing it in my face?"

"No, not at…," he began, but was swiftly cut off.

"Just leave me alone," she screamed at him and stomped out of the Great Hall.

James watched as she left, hurt was present in his eyes.

"Sorry James, tuff luck," Zoë said sympathetically.

"Yeah, story of my life," he responded.

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**Author's Note: **Hope you liked it. Please review!


	5. Friends?

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to (Erin)J.E.A.R.K.Potter, blackxrose, and Heather for reviewing. It really means a lot to me!

* * *

Lily still felt awful about what happened in Potions class, but decided that she had better cheer up. After all, if she didn't raise her hand in classes all the time and answer questions correctly, then she wouldn't be able to gain all those points back.

One day in particular, about three weeks into the term, Lily was in her Care Of Magical Creatures class. She tried hard to concentrate on what Professor Askew was saying, but it was hard to focus. It was such a beautiful day outside, and she was stuck learning. She wanted nothing more than to sit on a bench on the pathway and relax.

"Now class, we are going to be looking at Qudel. Now you may be wondering what a Qudel is. Well, you are going to have to find that out. I would like you and a partner to research a Qudel and collaborate on a three and half feet essay."

Lily immediately looked at Gracie, who in turn looked over at her. Their little group always had a pattern of who was partnered with whom, at least when they shared classes with the Ravenclaws. Lily and Gracie were always together, Marissa and Zoë were partners, and Scarlett and her boyfriend Travis were together.

"Now class, I've been teaching here since before you were born. I know who is paired with whom. And I don't want it that way any more. So, I will be choosing your partners for this assignment," the professor began. The whole class let out a noise of disappointment.

"Now, I want Scarlett Dalton and Keaton Blaire. Paul Sheldon and Peter Pettigrew. Marissa Sutton and Careen Randal. Lily Evans and…"

'Not Potter, not Potter, not Potter'

"James Potter." The professor read the rest of the names. Lily wasn't paying much attention though. She was dreading having to work with Potter. Wasn't it bad enough that he was Head Boy?

James on the other hand, was looking forward to this. In fact, he had never been so excited for an assignment in his life, and that includes when teachers had told him to "practice" and he "practiced" hexes on Snape.

"Now class, I want this assignment done by the beginning of class on Friday. Because you only have two days to complete this, I will give you class off today to work on the paper."

---

Lily and James quickly made their way over to the library. Lily was hoping this wouldn't take very long, the last thing she wanted was to be with Potter.

Once in the library, they placed their belongings on an empty table and went in search for books. Their research actually went quite well. They learned that the Qudel was a bird that lives primarily in Africa and other warm climates. Its bright colors attract many predators. However, it is able to protect itself because it releases a poisonous gas that can lead to severe brain damage. The only way to protect against it is to have a repellant potion. The repellant can only be found in feathers of the Qudel. Ironically, they make terrific pets though. You can get the gas chambers removed, making them harmless.

After being in the library for over an hour, James began to get impatient. Lily kept on glancing at the clock; he could tell she wanted the assignment to be over. The two had also barely talked at all. They were each taking separate notes from separate books.

"Okay, come on Lily," James commanded as he gathered up all of their stuff and grabbed her wrist.

"Where are we going Potter?" Lily questioned, her voice somewhat demanding.

"I've been in that library for far too long. And you looking at the clock wasn't helping so, we are going outside to finish."

He dragged her over to a spot underneath a tree and transfigured a rock into a blanket, so that they wouldn't get dirty sitting on the ground.

"Potter, I don't think that we will be able to work very well out here. There are so many distractions and I just want to get this over with," Lily complained.

"Distractions? You want to talk about distractions. How about Madam Lamport coming by every ten minutes to see what you're up to, or you looking up at the clock every so often. Now those are distractions," James informed her.

Lily let out a small laugh, "Yes, Madam Lamport looking down your neck can be very distracting."

There was a little awkward silence, but Lily broke it and said, "Once, during fourth year, she was standing behind me for nearly fifteen minutes. It was distracting me from my book so much that I turned around, and was planning on telling her to please go away. But, instead I accidentally hit her with the book."

James laughed, "Are you serious?"

"Yup. Let's just say that she doesn't stand very close to me anymore."

"I can just picture that happening."

"Yes, it was pretty funny. I felt really bad afterward though."

For the next hour Lily and James had not worked on the paper at all. Instead they had a conversation full of smiles and laughs. The conversation went from unfortunate mishaps with teachers, to times in detention, to experiments gone wrong, back to detention stories, and finally ending with how Professor Rander would look hilarious with pink hair. Needless to say, they both had lots of fun.

"Oh my God, it's almost dinner time," Lily told James.

"Yeah, and we didn't get very much done."

"Well ,there's nothing we can do about it now. I guess we'll have to finish it some other time," Lily said.

"Guess so, well speaking of dinner, do you want to head back up to the Castle and get something to eat?" James asked.

"Sure, I'm starving," Lily replied.

With that said, the two made their way back up to the castle. It wasn't until then that Lily saw how truly amazing James was. He was nice, intelligent, and could make her laugh. He really had changed a lot from the previous year. Not once did her ask her out, talk about himself in a gloating way, or run his hands through his very messy hair. She had even started to call him James instead of Potter.

As they walked into the Great Hall, Scarlett spotted the pair. She couldn't believe her eyes. Lily Evans and James Potter were actually talking with each other. And Lily had just laughed at a comment that he had made. This was amazing.

Lily saw Scarlett looking in her direction and gave her a smile and wave. Lily wasn't going over to her friend though, for Scarlett was at the Ravenclaw table with Travis. Instead, Lily scanned the Gryffindor table, none of her good friends were around. She would have to settle for sitting with some sixth years down at the other end of the table.

However, James had other plans. He sat down in a spot all by himself. He looked up at her as if asking if she was going to sit anytime soon. She didn't want to abandon him, so she sat down across from him.

"Trying to ditch me were you?" James asked, his hazel eyes staring at her. She couldn't help but notice a slight twinkle in his eyes.

"Of course not," she replied.

"So, how has your summer been?" he asked.

"Not too bad. I wish I could have been with my friends more often though. I mean, I love my family. It's just that I didn't get out too much," she said.

James could tell that Lily wasn't very keen on the topic of summer, so he changed it over to talk about how classes had been that week. Much to Lily's surprise, she found herself enjoying his company. Imagine that, if only James had been like this last year, they could have been friends sooner.

During their dinner, more of Lily's friends had come down. They were surprised to see Lily sitting with James, but didn't question her in front of him, they would wait until later.

Once Lily was finished eating, she said good-bye to James and left the Great Hall. James went over to sit with his fellow friends, which had come down to eat only ten minutes before Lily left.

Lily made her way to Gryffindor common room, but was yanked into the girls' bathroom before she even reached the stairs.

"Let go of me," Lily screamed. Then realizing that it was only Zoë, she shut her mouth, wondering why they had pulled her into the bathroom.

"What were you doing with Potter?" Marissa questioned.

"Yeah Lils, you hate him," piped in Gracie.

"Well, you know that paper about the Qudel, well, he's my partner. I got to know him_ a lot_ better," Lily explained.

"Oh my God, you and Potter were snogging!" Marissa shouted.

"No we weren't!" Lily shouted back. "Just because I talk to him doesn't mean that we snogged."

"Then how do you know him _a lot_ better?" Marissa asked.

"Bloody hell Marissa, is that all that on your mind? Snogging?" Gracie asked.

"You guys, I did not snog him. We were just talking and became friends. Just friends. Nothing more, nothing less," Lily explained. "Besides I really like Shaun Dunstan"

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** There's chapter five! Don't be too mad at me for making Lily like someone other than James, but she just started being friends with him. She needs to spend more time with him before they can get together. Anyways, please review and tell me what you think!


	6. Lily's Crush

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

* * *

"Okay Lils, spill," Gracie demanded.

"What are you talking about Gracie?" Lily questioned.

"Since when have you liked Shaun Dunstan?"

Lily blushed a little. Once the girls finally allowed Lily to leave the bathroom, they all headed up to their dorm room. All four of the other girls wanting to know more about Lily's new crush.

"Well, I don't know," she answered weakly. In reality, she did know the answer, she was just hiding it from her friends. Lily had liked Shaun since the end of their sixth year. She couldn't admit that though. After all, he was in Ravenclaw, and the seeker on the Quidditch team. Last year Gryffindor came in second place for the Quidditch Cup, only losing to Ravenclaw. That would not have looked good on her part for Gryffindor support. So, she decided to bottle her feelings inside of her. However, this was a new year, so she felt that it would be no problem to date him.

"Oh my God Lily, I think that it's so sweet that you like him!" Scarlett exclaimed.

Lily thought that Scarlett only thought it was great because Shaun was one of her boyfriend's roommates.

"Lily! Can I set you up?" Marissa asked. She looked as excited as a little kid on Christmas.

"No! Last time you tried to set me up with someone, you ended up dating him for a month," Lily replied.

"Well that was different, he was really, really hot," Marissa explained.

"And Shaun's not really, really hot?" Zoë asked.

Marissa thought about it a second, "Okay, I won't set you up Lily."

All five girls laughed, that was Marissa. She was such a flirt and got just about any guy she wanted.

Lily couldn't help but smile, Shaun was really, really hot. He was tall, and handsome. His blonde hair fell slightly in his face, it reminded Lily of Sirius Black's hair, except for the color. Shaun's chocolate eyes were to die for. He could look you in the eye and make your heart jump. But the quality that made most girls swoon over him was his figure. Quidditch training was very good for his body. He was strong and muscular. Actually, Lily wouldn't admit it, but he had many similar qualities as the Marauders. Of course looks weren't everything though. Shaun was also smart and extremely nice.

"You two would make the cutest couple ever!" Scarlett told her.

Lily blushed a little more.

"You should definitely go out with him," Gracie added. "Oh, and you should go to Hogsmeade with him. There's a trip next weekend!"

"Yeah, and I'll tell Travis to tell Shaun that he should ask you," Scarlett chipped in.

"You really don't have to," Lily pleaded.

"Don't be silly, we want to help you," Scarlett replied.

"No. Seriously, don't help. I don't want help," Lily said sternly.

"But…"

"No! I'm doing this on my own."

"But…"

"Okay, if you want to help, there is something that all four of you could do," Lily began. They all looked up at her, wondering what she wanted assistance with. "You could not look at him or giggle or whisper something to me if he's around."

---

Luckily for Lily, her friends had complied with her wishes, or at least tried. During classes shared with the Ravenclaws there were no giggles or any thing of that sort.

However, during lunch was a different story.

---

Lily was sitting with Zoë, Gracie, James and Remus, explaining to Gracie a charm that Professor Flitwick had assigned them to practice. Gracie had fallen asleep in class that day and was lost about what to do.

"Okay Gracie, do you understand now?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, I think I got it. You just flick and twist and say Lalita, right?"

"Yup that's right."

"So, Lily, Gracie, Zoë, are you guys planning on going to Hogsmeade this weekend?" James asked, his question mostly directed toward Lily, but she wasn't to know that.

"Yeah, probably. I mean there's no where else to go shopping or get butterbeers around here," Gracie responded for the three of them.

"What about you James, Remus?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, those butterbeers and Zonkos really get us going there," James replied.

Just then Shaun came up behind Lily, "Lily, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," Lily replied as she got up from her seat. She saw Gracie and Zoë send an encouraging smile in her direction.

Once Lily was out of hearing range James burst. "What the hell does Dunstan want with Lily?"

"Well, hopefully he's asking her to Hogsmeade!" Gracie shrieked.

James felt his jaw drop. The bastard Shaun Dunstan had beaten him to Lily. There was still hope though, after all, what were the chances that she would accept?

As if reading James' mind Remus asked, "Do you think Lily would accept if he asked?"

"Yes, are you kidding me? Lily's only been talking about him for week. She really likes him," Gracie responded. At that remark Zoë slapped Gracie on the arm. "Ouch! What in bloody hell was that for?"

"You are such an idiot. We weren't supposed to tell anyone that Lily likes Shaun," Zoë replied.

James felt his heart sink, how could Lily do that to him? He tried so hard to get her to like him, and she liked Shaun Dunstan. He worked so hard and all for nothing.

"I've got to go," he quickly told the group.

"I think I'll go too," Remus told them. He caught up to James in no time and asked, "why are you leaving?'

"She doesn't like me, she likes Shaun Dunstan," James responded.

"So, that's no reason to give up," Remus replied.

"What's the point, she's never going to like me."

"What the hell are you talking about? You're her friend now and last year she wouldn't even give you the time of day."

"Yeah, but now Lily's got _him_," James was slightly aggravated that Remus had followed him.

"Oh shut up and stop acting like a fucking baby already," there was hint of irritation present in his voice. "I mean, the chances of her staying with him the entire year are slim. And she'll have you as a friend for a long time."

James' face lit up at that comment. "You're a bloody fucking genius Moony! Once they break up she'll need a friend's shoulder to cry on, and I'll be there to help her out. Then she'll fall for me, realizing that she's liked me all along."

Remus was not sure that James' plan was accurate at all, but he decided to humor his friend. After all, it was better than seeing him mean and grouchy over something as stupid as this.

---

Lily came back to the table with a gigantic grim on her face.

"Did he ask you to Hogsmeade, Lily?" Zoë questioned.

"He sure did." Lily's smile grew even larger after this was said.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hope you all liked it. Please review!


	7. Hogsmeade

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note**: Thanks to blackxrose, lissy, (Erin)J.E.A.R.K.Potter, Heather, FaNFicMainIAC88, and MaskedEnchantress for reviewing chapters 5 and/or 6, it really means a lot to me!

* * *

"I have absolutely nothing to wear," Lily declared. It was the morning of the Hogsmeade trip and Lily was searching her closet for something to wear.

"How about this?" Gracie asked as she pulled out a tight pair of jeans and a black, low-cut shirt.

Lily shook her head, "No, I can't wear that. This has to be perfect, I want him to like me so bad."

"Alright, alright. Shut the hell up and I'll help you," Marissa said as she dragged herself out of bed. She had a grumpy look on her face that said 'don't mess with me before I've had my coffee.'

Marissa went over to her own drawer and pulled out a shirt. Then she proceeded to gather the jeans that Gracie had pulled out and put them with the shirt. Next, Marissa grabbed a pair of Lily's shoes.

"Go change now, and I'll get some jewelry," Marissa told her.

Lily looked at her in awe, here was a girl that had been awoken by the sound of Lily and Gracie conversing no more than five minutes ago and she had pulled an outfit together that would look amazing on Lily.

Once Lily was finished changing, she stepped out of the bathroom with a smile on her face. The outfit Marissa had chosen was perfect. The top was a white, ¾ length shirt that was slightly off her shoulders. The jeans were tight and made her figure look striking. The shoes that Marissa picked out were simple white sandals, not lifting Lily off the ground by more than an inch.

"How do I look?" Lily asked.

"You look great Lils!" Gracie exclaimed.

"Hmm," was all that Marissa said. Then asked, "What would you say to leaving your hair down for a change?"

Lily looked at Marissa for a second, she hated wearing her hair down. Ever since Lily grew it longer, she always felt that it was weighed down, and only looked good up.

Marissa didn't wait for Lily to answer; instead she grabbed Lily by the shoulders and shoved her down on a bed. Then she grabbed a brush and her wand. Lily heard her mutter some spell, and then she felt a brush go through her hair.

When Marissa was finally finished, Lily got up and looked into her mirror. Marissa had done the impossible, Lily's hair looked astonishing down. Somehow, Marissa managed to give Lily's hair some bounce to it, making it look shiny and smooth.

---

Soon enough, Lily found herself in Hogsmeade with Shaun.

"So, do you want to get a butterbeer?" Shaun asked Lily.

"Sure, I haven't had one since last year," Lily answered.

"Really," he asked. "I mean, you don't ever come up here during the summer?"

"No, my parents are muggles, so we usually stay in the muggle part of England."

"Oh, that's right,. Sorry, I forgot."

"That's alright… Anyways, how's school treating you?" Lily asked, she actually wasn't quite sure what to talk about with him. She was so nervous not to say anything or do anything stupid.

"Not bad, Quidditch practices are starting soon so I'll be occupied with that," he replied.

"Yeah, did you make captain this year?"

"Sure did, and I'm so excited about it. I can finally run practices the way they were meant to be. I mean, sure Tim Swane did a good job, I mean we won the Quidditch Cup, but I know I can do better. You see, he didn't have us practice very long on the weekdays, but on the weekends, he nearly killed us he worked us so hard. We once spent five hours practicing one Saturday," Shaun informed her.

"Wow, that's a long time. And you had to stay on the broom that long?" she asked.

"Well, of course. Where else would we be?"

"I don't know. It's just that that's an awfully long time to be on a broom," she replied.

"Nay, it's all fun. You know soaring up as high as you can, then diving for the golden snitch, personally, I'd love it if I could spend all day on the Quidditch Pitch, just flying around," he said. Lily could see a smile forming on his perfectly formed lips.

"All day?" she asked.

"Of course, it's the best feeling in the world you know."

"I wouldn't know," she responded softly, hoping he wouldn't hear her.

Unfortunately for Lily, his ears were as good as his eyes. "What was that? You wouldn't know?"

Lily let out a sigh, "You swear you won't tell anyone?" she asked.

Shaun nodded his head and said, "I promise."

"During our first year, when we learned how to fly, I, well, I didn't have the best of luck," she admitted. There was a look in his eyes that told her to continue. "It took me the longest time to get the broom under my control, and by the end of class, while every one else was just coming down, I was just getting up. So I never really learned how to fly on a broom."

Shaun did something that Lily did not expect at all, he didn't laugh, instead he made an offer, "Well, how about sometime when we get back to school, for instance next weekend, I can take you flying. That way you can experience flying, and I can be with you."

"I'd like that," she answered flirtatiously.

---

By that time they had reached the pub and gotten their butterbeers. Shaun saw a table and pulled the chair out for her to sit in.

Little did Lily know, James was at that pub seated a few tables behind her with Sirius. Lily couldn't see the two boys for her back was faced to them, but they could see her.

"Look at that asshole, thinking he's so smart just because he made her laugh," James commented to Sirius.

"Prongs, relax. They are just getting some butterbeers, don't freak out on me."

"I know, I know, it's just that I want to be there now. Not him, that bastard doesn't deserve someone as amazing as Lily."

"Seriously, I think that you are taking this a little too far buddy. Lily and Shaun will be over before you know," Sirius assured his friend.

"Oh really? Then why is he holding her fucking hands?" James asked, there was panic present in his face expression.

Sirius put his head between his temples and thought 'why did I agree to come here? I knew that all he would talk about is Lily, why am I here?'

"Can I get another butterbeer?" Sirius asked as one of the workers waked by. Sirius knew it was going to be a long day with James acting as crazy as he was.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Hope you liked it. And don't worry this is still going to be about Lily and James, they just need more time before they get together. Anyways, please review!


	8. Lily's Boyfriend

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to MaskedEnchantress, Heather, and ( Erin)J.E.A.R.K.Potter for reviewing chapter 7!

* * *

James was sitting in the Great Hall the next morning with Zoë and Sirius when he saw Lily enter the room. He couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked, her hair was thrown back into a messy bun and she had a gigantic smile on her face. Lily's cheeks had a natural rosy color to them, making her look so sweet and innocent.

"Good morning," Lily told the group as she took a seat next to Sirius, across from James.

"You look pretty happy for a Monday morning. You do realize that its 7:30 and we have a double block of Potions with the Slytherins, right?" James asked.

"Of course, I'm just so happy," she shrieked.

"And why are you so happy?" Sirius asked.

"Because Shaun asked me out last night!" Lily replied. Her smile was growing even larger.

James couldn't believe what he was hearing, it just wasn't fair. He had liked Lily since fifth year, Shaun had just started liking Lily. But who gets Lily? Shaun does! It just wasn't fair.

"That's fantastic Lily, I'm really very happy for you both," James replied. Of course, he really didn't feel that way at all, in fact, James wanted to hex Shaun like there was no tomorrow. However, he had to remember the plan. Once Lily and Shaun were broken up, he would come and help Lily through a difficult time until she fell in love with him.

"Shaun is just so amazing. And, he's even going to take me out flying some night. It's going to be so much fun!" Lily said, her voice was full of excitement.

"Okay, not that I don't _love_ hearing stories about your bloody love interest, but it's making me sick," Sirius joked.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I know you probably don't want to hear about him. I'll just save my stories for the girls, they'll love to hear them." Lily responded.

"But, if you insist that we talk about him," Sirius began. "How much do you really know about this guy? I mean he could just be looking for a good shag and then dump you."

Lily hit him in the arm, "Sirius Black you ass. He wouldn't do something like that, he's not_ you_."

"Ouch, Lilykins, that one hurt," Sirius replied.

"How many times to I have to tell you, stop calling me Lilykins."

"Oh, but Lilykins, it fits you so well," Sirius teased.

---

For the next week, Lily practically drove James crazy. All she wanted was to gush about how wonderful Shaun was. James humored her and listened. He even pretended that the situation didn't bother him. Whenever Lily would talk about her love life, James put a smile on his face. He laughed at the right moments and made her laugh in return.

However, it drove him insane. Despite his appearance, James was falling apart. He felt betrayed that Lily was so ignorant toward his feelings. He loathed Shaun, wishing that he had never been born.

The worst part of it all was when he saw them holding hands in the hallway, or giving a kiss to each before departing to separate classes. James had to fight the urge to grab his wand and send Shaun flying out a window. James often had to repeat over and over in his mind that Lily and Shaun would never last. She was too good for him and Lily would soon realize that.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Sorry this chapter is really short, but I need a new chapter for the next idea. And sorry I had to make Lily have a boyfriend other than James, but I promise that Lily and James will get together soon, bear with. Please review!


	9. Interruptions

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note: **Thanks to (Erin)J.E.A.R.K.Potter, Elvlenprincess9744, lilchocolatechip011, and Heather for reviewing! It really means a lot to me to hear your feedback!

* * *

"Hey, Lils, where are you going?" James asked. He saw Lily with her cloak on, heading out of the common room.

"Oh, I'm just going on a little walk with Shaun," she replied.

"Oh, um, bye then."

"Bye!" Lily responded cheerfully.

Once Lily was out of the common room, James let out a sigh. When was she going to dump this guy?

"Hey Prongs, it's your turn now," Sirius told his friend, they were playing Wizards Chess, and James was losing horribly.

"What, oh, um, sorry Padfoot. Must have zoned out for a second," James answered.

"Okay, get off your bloody ass and go follow her."

"What? Are fucking mad?" James asked. "She would see me… besides, I haven't stooped that low, yet."

"Oh, for the love of God! You've got the cloak and the map. Just follow her. Besides, I'm bored and need something to do."

James looked at his friend for a moment, this was the fun loving Sirius that had always gotten into trouble with James. He was always there to back James up whenever needed.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go," James responded as he jumped up off of the comfortable chair he had just been sitting in.

"Do you think that Moony and Wormtail would want to come?" Sirius asked.

James thought about it for a second, "No, there's not enough room under there for all four of us anymore."

In a matter of minutes James and Sirius had gathered up the Marauders' Map, the invisibility cloak, and started toward the Hogwarts grounds.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," James whispered as he tapped the map with his wand. On the previously blank piece of paper, a map of the Hogwarts and Hogsmeade grounds had appeared. James saw two dots labeled next to the lake, not twenty meters from where he stood. They were labeled Lily Evans and Shaun Dunstan. That was where James wanted to be, now all he had to do was get closer.

James was about to take a step forward when he felt Sirius' hand grab his shoulder. "Padfoot, what the hell are you doing?"

"Before we go over there, I need to know that you won't make a complete ass of yourself."

"Padfoot, there's nothing to worry about," James reasoned.

"Yeah? Well what if you see them snogging? What are you going to do? You can't make them stop," Sirius told him. For once Sirius was truly right. What would he do?

"I promise I won't do anything dumb."

Sirius released James' shoulder and the two made their way over toward Lily and Shaun. James could hear Lily suppress a giggle, and not the kind that is heard after a funny joke. There was Shaun, kissing her. James saw Shaun's hands wrap around Lily's waist.

James stood there, dumbstruck, he honestly didn't know what to do. And luckily for James, he didn't have to know what to do. Sirius bent down and picked out a big chunk of dirt and nailed Shaun in the head with it.

"What the fuck?" Shaun said as he pulled away from Lily. He reached his hand up to touch his head and grasped onto the chunk of dirt.

Lily had a look of fear, confusion, and anger on her face. The fear being that she thought she did something wrong, the confusion because she wondered why he had stopped, and the anger because he had stopped.

"A piece of dirt just hit me in the head," he told her. Lily relaxed a little, still curious as to how it got there.

However, these thoughts were soon gone from her mind as Shaun leaned in to kiss her again. He ran his tongue along her mouth, pleading for entrance. Lily almost immediately allowed his entry, but it seemed as soon as his tongue had slid into her mouth, Shaun pulled away.

"God damn it! What the fuck is going on?" he cried out in frustration. There was now another pile of dirt attached to him, except this time it reached his cheek.

Now Lily was seriously wondering what was going on. The first time it could have been coincidental, but two times that he got hit with dirt, that was just strange.

"You know what, I think we should probably be heading back to the castle. I've got Astronomy class tonight and I've got to get washed up," Shaun informed Lily.

Lily frowned a bit but answered, "Yeah, I've still got to finish an essay for Potions."

The couple then headed back toward the castle, taking their time so that they could be together longer. Usually this would have irritated James, but he was thankful that night. It gave him and Sirius time to rush up to Gryffindor Common Room without looking conspicuous.

---

"You should have seen it, Padfoot nailed him in the back of the head with a clod of dirt," James laughed.

"Yeah, the guy's face was priceless. For being in Ravenclaw, he looked pretty damn stupid," Sirius added. Peter was laughing hysterically at the story; he always was a suck up toward the other Marauders. And him doing so just boasted the egos of James and Sirius.

"And then, they go into to kiss some more, and Prongs hits him in the cheek. I really thought it was going to nail them in the mouth," Sirius told the group, then added, "And it would serve them right for not keeping their mouths shut!"

All four guys were laughing as James and Sirius explained in thorough detail what Shaun said and how it made Lily upset.

After a few moments, the laughter had died down and Remus said, "I'm not sure that was the best idea you've ever come up with."

The looks of the three other boys were in shock and confusion.

"You see, if Lily ever finds out that you spied on her and ruined the evening, then I expect she'll be pretty mad at you," Remus explained.

"Moony, how the hell is she going to find out? We had the cloak on," James assured his friend.

"Yes, but what if you let it slip sometime, by accident."

"Relax, everything will be fine, Lily will never know what happened, at least if you all promise not to tell anyone," James told the group.

"Won't tell a soul," Sirius promised.

"Marauders promise?" James asked his fellow Marauders.

Each of the boys lifted up their right hand and said, "I solemnly swear that I will not tell anybody about what has happened. If I do, then I will be damned by my fellow Marauders and forced to live with the shame of betraying another Marauder as well as losing all my best friends." This was the pledge that the boys had made up in their first year at Hogwarts, when they found out about Remus being a werewolf. Ever since that day they made a pact and little pledge that they would keep forever and ever.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Hope you liked the chapter! Please review!


	10. James's Outburst

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** A special thanks to MaskedEnchantress, ( Erin)J.E.A.R.K.Potter, Heather, and Muzzy-Olorea for reviewing!

* * *

Lily couldn't believe how time had passed. It was already November, and she and Shaun had been dating for nearly a month now. Lily was truly enjoying her final year at Hogwarts.

To make matters even better, there was a meeting with the prefects that night. Lily loved having meetings with them, she always felt that a few of the girls had admired her, making Lily feel special.

"Alright everybody, now that everyone is here lets get down to business," Lily began the meeting. "First things first, I think that some of you may need reminding of your duties. As a prefect you cannot take points away or give detentions. If you see trouble you may report it to one of the professors, James, or me." Lily told them, she was specifically talking to one of the Slytherins though.

"Yes, and as prefects it is your job to report any mishaps," James added to the discussion. It was common knowledge that most people would not rat out their friends, but James felt that he should add that to the group.

"Okay, now we'll talk about the fun stuff," Lily said excitedly.

The group looked up at her with interest.

"We need to plan a Hogsmeade trip sometime before the holidays," Lily began. The group let out a slight groan, not that they didn't love trips to Hogsmeade they were just hoping it would be something really fun, exciting, and different from the usual.

"Now, don't start with the pouting faces, I'm not finished yet. We also need to start thinking about themes for a dance," Lily exclaimed.

The faces of all the girls in the room lit up, this was exactly what they had really wanted, a dance! It was going to be so much fun!

"Lily, James, if you don't mind me asking, why are we having a dance?" Bailey Parry, a Hufflepuff sixth year, asked.

"Oh, well, I asked Dumbledore if we could have one and he said yes, it's really for no reason in particular," Lily responded.

"I think we should have the dance on Valentine's Day," Elizabeth Wimund, a fifth year in Gryffindor, told the group.

"That's a great idea, it'll be so romantic that day!" Lily agreed. All the girls then started discussing details about how much fun it was going to be and how formal or informal the event should be.

James hadn't really been paying very much attention to what they were conversing about, his mind was once again focused on Lily. She looked so beautiful tonight, her hair was once again down (Marissa taught her the charm to make it look nice while being down.) James couldn't help but feel that Lily was the most gorgeous woman that he had ever met, he especially adored her eyes. Now that he wasn't on the receiving end of death glares, James had noticed how kind and welcoming her eyes were. Lily's almond shaped emerald eyes were always sparkling with joy, and had a look to them that made her appear so sweet and gentle.

James was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn't even realized that the meeting was finally finished and he and Lily would soon be walking back to the common room.

---

"Well, that was successful, don't you think?" Lily asked James. The two were still in the room where the meeting was held, relaxing on the cozy chairs.

"Yeah," was the response.

"Guess what?"

He looked at her, wondering what she was about to say, and asked, "What?"

"On my date with Shaun last night, he finally took me out flying."

"Did he really?" James asked, not caring at all for the subject of their conversation. He started to dread talking with Lily at times, it seemed that all she wanted to talk about was Shaun Dunstan, James' worse enemy, and that list included Snape and Lord Voldermort and all of Lord Voldermort's supporters.

"Yes, I had so much fun… Of course, I didn't go much higher than twenty feet, but I got up higher than I ever did before," Lily said, excitement filled her voice.

"Why didn't you go any higher?" James asked.

"Well, I got kind of scared and made Shaun bring me down to the ground."

"So it really wasn't flying then," James announced, a slight glimmer in his hazel eyes.

"What are you saying that for? I got on the bloody broom and went in the air, and that is flying."

"No it's not. You have to be up higher than that, and stay up for more than five minutes to really experience the thrill."

"Oh, well, whatever. Oh James, Shaun was being so sweet to me last night. He's got to be the nicest guy that I've ever dated," Lily told James.

James sighed and said, "Lily, do we really have to talk about Shaun?"

"Well, no, it's just that I'm so thrilled and wanted to tell you," Lily responded, there was a tiny amount of hurt in her voice.

"Well, would you stop talking about him? It's driving me crazy," James said, his tone was slightly louder than usual.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that it bothered you," Lily apologized, wondering what his problem was.

"Well, it does and it always had," his tone was now louder and aggravated.

"Why didn't you say something before then?" she asked.

"Because, because I couldn't."

"And why not? James, we are supposed to be friends, you can tell me anything," Lily responded.

"No I can't."

"James, what's really bothering you?" Lily asked, concern was written all over her face.

"You want to know what's bothering me?" James' voice was now raised into a tone that made him sound a little bit scary.

Lily slowly nodded her head yes.

"How do you think it makes me feel to see you and Shaun together?" he asked.

Lily said nothing, just continued looking at him. She was so confused about what he was going on about. 'Why on earth did he care so much about the matter?' Lily wondered.

"It doesn't feel to great, let me tell you that. I see that bastard kiss you in the halls and it makes me want to tear him to pieces with my bare hands."

Lily couldn't believe what she was hearing, why did James hate Shaun so much?

"And then you come prancing in here going on and on about him. And all I can do is smile and pretend that everything is fine," James yelled.

"James, why do you feel that way? Why do you hate him so much?" Lily asked, her own voice now starting to get louder.

"Why? Bloody hell Lils, are you that thick?" James asked, he was so frustrated at where this conversation was going, and so aggravated at Lily for not understanding everything.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? What are you trying to say James?"

"I love you Lily," he shouted.

Lily was now at a loss for words, whatever she had been expecting, that was certainly not it.

James looked away from her, his anger was slowly releasing from inside.

"I'm sorry James," was all Lily managed to say before leaving the room.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Hope you all liked chapter 10! Don't hate me for not having Lily instantly fall for him right at that moment, just because he told her that he loved her. Please review! And also, Black's Gurl, a reviewer for my other story, asked me to email her when I posted a new chapter, and I said to myself, "Wow, that's a really good idea." So, if anybody would like me to email you when I post another chapter for Loving You, you can either email me your email address or put it in a review, and I'll add you to the list! I find this very helpful for those of you who a) are not a member of or b) don't want to receive emails notifying you that my other story Love Affair, has been updated, but wanting to know when this one has been updated! (My email address is just so you know)


	11. Follow Your Heart

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to moony128 and libyanauthor for reviewing, sorry I couldn't thank you in my reviews in the last chapter, but I posted it before you reviewed! Anyways, I really appreciate!

* * *

Lily found that she couldn't sleep that night; all that was on her mind was James. Why did he have to say that? She even tried to drown him out of her thoughts by reading, but she managed to make connections between the characters in the book to either James, Shaun, or the situation.

Sleep finally did come for Lily, but not until 3:00 in the morning. And she was lucky that the next day was a Saturday so she would be able to sleep in.

However, Lily awoke the next morning at 8:00. Her mind still wasn't clear as to what she should do, it was all so confusing.

So, Lily did the only thing that made her feel better, she got up and quickly dressed in black spandex pants, red shorts to go over them, a blue tank top, black fleece jacket, and finally her running shoes.

Lily made her way down the corridors without running into anybody, which she was grateful for. Then Lily stepped outside and onto the pavement pathway that surrounded the castle.

Lily ran, full speed against the fierce wind. She felt her cheeks become pink at the cold temperature, but she didn't mind. This was exactly what she needed to clear her mind.

Lily went flying passed the lake, she had a rush of adrenaline that made her feel free of all her problems. It was just her and the pathway, no one else in the world to burden Lily with problems, no more problems of her own.

Lily was about ¾ of the way back to the front entrance when she felt a sudden pain in her stomach, her body was telling her to slow down, but she didn't want to. She just wanted to run, run away to some other place and escape.

When Lily had reached the front entrance, she decided to take a short break, allowing herself to rejuvenate after the hard run. She didn't like this though, now she was forced to think about the previous night again. She rested her head in her hands and allowed a small amount of water to release from her eyes. She really liked Shaun, but what about James? He was such an amazing friend.

"Lily, what are you doing out here?" Lily jumped at the sound of Jacqui Potter's voice.

"Nothing," Lily responded. She really didn't want to talk with anyone now.

"Were you crying?" Jacqui asked.

Lily wiped her eyes with her sleeve and replied, "No, it's just the wind, its making my eyes a little watery."

"What's bothering you?" the little girl asked.

Lily felt like responding with 'What the hell is this, the fucking inquisition?' but instead said, "Nothings wrong."

"I know you're not okay, I can tell."

"I'm fine," she snapped.

Jacqui didn't back down, "I won't leave until you tell me."

Lily groaned, this girl was definitely a Potter. "I'm fine, you should go back inside."

"Not until you tell me what's wrong."

Lily just sat there for a moment, maybe if she didn't say anything, the girl would leave her alone. Much to Lily's disappointment, the girl didn't budge. Jacqui just sat down next to her, waiting for Lily to talk.

Jacqui was just about to lose hope and go back inside when Lily spoke up, "I had a fight with James last night."

"Do you want to tell me about it?" Jacqui asked.

"He told me that he loves me."

Jacqui felt her heart beginning to speed up, "And what happened next?"

"I left the room. I really don't know what to do," Lily told her.

"Do you love him?"

"I'm with Shaun Dunstan."

"That's not answering the question," Jacqui's voice wasn't harsh or bitter when she said this; instead it was full of understanding and care.

Lily didn't say anything for a long while, she was just absorbed in her own thoughts.

"I can't choose between them," Lily confided. "I mean, I'm dating Shaun, and I really like him, but James is, well, James. He's such a good friend, and I don't want to lose what we have."

"I think you just need to do what you feel is right," Jacqui advised.

Lily smiled and then said, "It's not always easy, deciding that… They are both really sweet guys."

"Lily, don't let your brain choose, follow your heart on this one," Jacqui replied.

Lily looked over at the little girl, here Lily was, 17 years old and she was getting advice from an eleven year old. It didn't seem to be right, but it worked for Lily. She didn't want to confide in her friends, they all had their favorites between the two guys. But what Jacqui had said was genuine, it felt real and not from a bias opinion. Although Lily was positive that she wanted Lily to love her cousin back, but those words never came into the conversation.

With Jacqui's words in mind, Lily got up off of the ground, thanked the girl and went back inside.

---

'Follow your heart, not your mind,' Lily repeated over and over again. She was sitting in the library, pretending to be reading a book.

After hours of struggling with herself, Lily got up from her seat in the library. She knew what her heart was telling her to do.

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**Author's Note 2:** Chapter 11 is finished! Please review and tell me what you think! And remember, if you want me to add you to the list of people that I'm emailing for chapter updates, just let me know!


	12. Lily's Choice

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to long-haired-hippie-freak, Muzzy-Olorea, moony128, MaskedEnchantress, and (Erin) J.E.A.R.K.Potter for reviewing, it means a lot to me to hear your feedback!

* * *

Lily made her way out of the castle and toward to the Quidditch pitch. Each step she took she was becoming more certain of her decision.

Once Lily had finally gotten to her destination, she noticed the seven players on their brooms. She tried desperately to get their attention, but they were all too involved with the practice.

So, Lily would just have to wait. She decided to go sit in the stands, hoping that maybe he would see her. However, being the captain of the team, he was too involved trying new tactics for the future games.

---

"Lily, what are you doing here?"

Lily looked into the warm eyes of James Potter, the one she came to see. His face was sweaty from flying around and he hadn't bothered to enter the locker rooms with the rest of the team.

"I came to talk to you," she told him, her voice not much louder than a whisper.

"Is it about last night?' James asked.

Lily nodded her head.

"Lils, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have said that to you," he apologized.

"No, James…" but was cut off.

"Lils I'm really sorry, I made an ass of myself and insulted your boyfriend."

"But…"

"How about we just forget last night even happened?"

"I can't forget, James," she said, her voice was soft again.

James let out a sigh, he wanted her to forget that, he wanted to forget it himself. "Please can we just pretend it never happened, I mean, I just don't want to lose you, as..."

James wasn't able to finish his sentence though, because at that moment Lily leaned in and kissed him. James was shocked at this to say the least, but Lily seemed sure as to what she was doing. So James allowed himself to take in every moment of that kiss. Her lips tasted like strawberries, and it felt to James that they fit perfectly together.

Lily pulled away before the kiss became too intimate, a smile was on her face.

"Lily, as much as I enjoyed that, why did you do that?" James asked.

Lily smiled sweetly at him and replied, "A pretty smart person once told me to follow my heart in situations like this, and I did. I followed my heart and it led to you."

James smiled at her, she was finally going to be _his_ Lily. James leaned forward to kiss her again, but she pulled back. "Lily, what's wrong?" he asked.

"I just realized that I was so excited to see you that I forgot to break things off with Shaun," she told him, her eyebrows were coming closer together, although not in fury, but in an apologetic manner.

James sighed and rested his forehead against hers. "Alright, I'm going to go shower and change, and you go break up with Shaun."

---

Lily was dreading going back into the castle, she really didn't know how she was going to breakup with Shaun. He was such a sweet guy, and she didn't want to hurt him.

She saw him sitting in the Great Hall with a couple of his Quidditch friends. Lily sighed, it was now or never.

"Shaun can I talk to you for a second?" she asked, she was hoping that he couldn't sense all the nervousness that she felt.

"Sure," he said as he got up and followed her out of the Great hall.

"Shaun, you are a really nice guy, you know that right? And you're really sweet too," Lily began.

Shaun let out a sigh and asked, "Are you breaking up with me?"

'Why was he being so blunt about it?' Lily wondered. Instead she replied, "Well, yes. It's really not you, it's me. And I'm not just saying that to make you feel better."

"Why?" was all he asked.

"Because, well, it wouldn't be fair to you. I mean, I like you, it's just that James said some stuff to me last night and it really got me thinking, and I'm sorry."

"Potter?" Shaun asked.

"Yes, James got me to thinking and I got all confused and then I realized that as much as I liked being you, I couldn't be without James in my life."

"Can I just ask one thing?"

Lily nodded her head yes.

"What did he say?" Shaun inquired.

Lily was quite astonished at that question, she never expected him to ask that. "Um, well, he said that he loved me."

"Bloody hell Lily, that ridiculous," he shouted at her. "You've only started being friends with him this year, he can't possibly love you."

"Shaun, you're being unreasonable," Lily began, her voice was calm.

"You don't understand, that's what Potter does. He chases after girls that he knows he can't have. Then once he gets them, he dumps them," Shaun yelled.

"Shut the fuck up!" Lily shouted back at him.

"Why because it's the bloody truth and you know it?" he retorted.

"No, because you're speaking like a bloody crazy person. James would never do something like that to me, _never_!"

"He wouldn't? Well, don't come crying back to me once he's bored of you," Shaun yelled.

Lily was feeling very angry now, Shaun didn't know what he was talking about and it made Lily full of rage. "If you say one more thing, I swear, I'll, I'll…"

"You'll do what?" Shaun asked irately. When Lily didn't respond he continued, "Don't pretend that I'm wrong Lily, you know as well as I do that Potter just wants a good shag, nothing more."

Lily was bursting with anger now, she had never felt this much hatred in her life toward another person. With all her might Lily slapped Shaun across the face. He cheek was bright red, and Lily could tell that his eyes were slightly watering.

"Now, don't you _ever _talk about James or me like that again," Lily growled at him.

With that said Lily turned on her heel and left Shaun standing there, with a hand print forming on his left cheek.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Hope you liked chapter 12, cause let me tell you, that was like my favorite chapter to write! And Lily and James are finally together, so that should make everyone happy! Please review!


	13. Dinner With The Marauders

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note: **Thanks to Prong's Princess, miss-mags-ak, SevenPeach, and moony128 for reviewing! It really means a lot to hear all of your feedback!

* * *

Lily walked into the Great Hall, a triumphant look on her face. She searched for her friends, but only saw Scarlett, and she was sitting with her boyfriend. Lily certainly didn't want to interrupt them, she would never hear the end of it from Scarlett if she did.

Instead, Lily took a seat with the Marauders, with the exception of James because he hadn't showed up to dinner yet.

"Hey Lily, what's new with you?" Remus asked.

"Oh, not much, I just slapped Shaun across the face," Lily replied.

"You did what?" Peter asked.

"He was being rather rude."

"Lilykins, you can't just go around slapping guys cause they're rude, especially not your boyfriend," Sirius told her.

"I didn't slap my boyfriend."

"You and Shaun are over?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, I realized that I liked someone else," she told the group.

They looked at her, expecting for her to elaborate on the statement. When they realized that she wasn't going to, Remus asked, "Who do you like now?"

Lily smiled and replied, "James. Actually, we're going out now."

"You've got to be shiting me," Sirius said.

"No, I'm not, we're going out now."

"Jeez, did it take long enough for you guys to get together? I mean, he's only liked you for forever," Peter added.

"And speak of the devil, here he is now," Sirius announced.

Once James had gotten within hearing reach of Lily and the Marauders, Sirius hollered, "Prongs, you sly dog, getting Lilykins to break up with Shaun and get with you."

Lily blushed as everyone around them looked over at her. Now the whole school would soon know that she and James were officially a couple. Lily was almost dreading how people were going to react; half the female population was going to hate her for taking him off the market.

James came over and sat next to Lily, lazily slinging his arm around her shoulders. "So, I'm guessing you've heard that Lily finally changed her mind about me," James announced.

"Yeah, and we've heard plenty more Prongs. You should really tell Lilykins not to talk about making out with you, especially while we're eating," Sirius told his friend.

"What? I didn't say anything about making out with him. Sirius Black you bloody bastard, you take that back right now, I never did such a thing," Lily yelled, panic in her voice.

The guys all started to laugh at this, all four of them knew that Lily wouldn't say such a thing, it was just fun to tease her.

"You never did such a thing, well what thing is that? Tell us, or make out with Prongs?" Sirius asked, a phony innocence in his eyes.

"Neither one of them!" she shrieked.

"Lils, relax, they're just trying to get a rise out of you," James assured her.

"Oh, right. Well, it wasn't very funny. And don't you dare do that again Sirius," Lily scolded.

"I won't Lilykins, after all, I don't want to end up like your buddy Shaun over there," Sirius replied, pointing his thumb in the direction of the Ravenclaw table.

"What'd you do to him Lils?" James asked, curiosity taking over his face.

Lily turned a vibrant shade of red. "Well, he was saying awful stuff. And then I lost my temper with him after he started calling me a whore, and well, I slapped him across the face. I didn't mean to do it that hard though."

"He called you a whore?" James asked.

Lily nodded her head, uncertain if she even should have brought that up in the first place.

"That bloody bastard, who the fuck does he think he is, calling you that," James had anger written all over his face. His grip around Lily's shoulders tightened, as if he was afraid something was going to happen to her.

"It's really not that big of deal," Lily told him, not wanting him to get in a fight because of her.

"Yeah, not that big of a deal," he repeated back to her. Although his eyes said differently, there was rage mixed in with hurt that she was exposed to that.

"James, it isn't anything really. Besides, I took care of everything," she told him, trying to cool him down.

"Yeah, you're right… Now, I'm starving, and that apple pie looks pretty damn good, so if you'll excuse me," James began, but cut himself off when he took a large bite of his apple pie.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Hope you all liked chapter 13! I know it's kind of short, but it wrote itself, and that's as long as it was getting. Anyways, please review!


	14. Flying

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note: **Thanks to lOvEiNhEaVen, MaskedEnchantress, Monkey Gurl1, SevenPeach, moony128, and everyone else who reviewed! It means a lot to hear what you think of the story!

* * *

Lily and James remained the hot new topic for several weeks after they started dating. And as Lily expected, many of the girls gave her looks of loathing, which made Lily feel quite uncomfortable.

However, worse than the looks from the girls, were the looks from Shaun. He looked at James with hatred written all over his face. And James, being the cocky, bragging type of guy, just gloated to everyone how he and Lily were together. Every time James had caught Shaun looking at them, he would casually place a protective arm around Lily's shoulder, or he would hold her hand, and every so often, he would lay a light kiss on her lips. All these things made Shaun fury with anger, but James didn't care, he had won Lily's heart. And Lily, well, she just wanted to show Shaun just how much James cared about her, and make Shaun regret the awful things he had said.

---

"Hey Lils, you didn't really go that high when you went flying with Shaun right?" James asked his girlfriend.

Lily looked up from her homework, wondering why he had asked that. "Well, you certainly didn't think that it qualified for flying. But I did get on the damn broom."

"You want to go out flying with me?" James asked.

"You mean right now?"

"Yeah, right now," he replied, a grin on his face.

"I don't know, I mean, I've got lots of homework left to do," Lily answered.

"Come on Lils, you barely have anything left."

Lily thought about it for a second, and then responded, "Alright, but I'm not going up _that_ high."

James smiled, "I'll be right back, I've just got to get my broom."

"James," Lily said as he got up, "I don't have a broom."

"I know, you'll use mine."

"Then whose will you use?" Lily asked.

"Mine. Do you actually think I'd let you on my broom without me? Because, that's my favorite broom and if it got smashed I'd be pissed," James told her.

"Way to be nice, automatically thinking I'd crash that damn broom."

James laughed, and then went up to his dormitory to fetch the broomstick. He came back several minutes later with a large grin on his face.

---

"James, I'm not sure about this," Lily said frantically. Lily and James were both on the broom, about fifteen feet up in the air.

"Lils, don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you," James assured her.

"But, what if something does happen?"

"I won't let you get hurt, I promise."

Lily looked at him for a second, he had turned virtually his whole body around on the broom to face her. His eyes told her that she should trust him, that he truly wouldn't let any harm come her way, but she was just so scared that something would happen to her if she went up high.

"Lily, do you trust me?" he asked.

"Well, of course I do," she responded.

"Then listen to me when I say I will never let anything bad happen to you," he told her.

"Alright, fine," Lily replied, her voice was slightly high-pitched. And her body was shaking from fear.

As the broom started to rise higher, Lily clung her arms around James' middle. Her face was buried against his back, and her heart was racing.

The broom was stilling going up higher, Lily could feel it, but she was thankful that her eyes were shut against James' back so that she wouldn't have to see.

James could feel Lily squirming ever so slightly behind him, apparently she was quite frightened, but James wasn't going to stop until she asked him to. He felt her arms tighten around him, it felt to him like she was holding on for dear life.

Lily noticed that the broom had finally stopped getting higher, and was now at a steady height of just flying around. She somewhat loosened her grip around James and removed her face from his back. She looked around her, but was careful not to look down. Everything was amazing, she could see trees flying passed her as the couple raced around the pitch. A smile appeared on Lily's face, this was truly amazing. And since James was right there with her, she felt safe.

"Having fun?" James asked, he nearly had to yell because the wind was whipping passed them.

"This is bloody brilliant," Lily screamed back at him.

They remained up there for sometime, until James realized the time. They were already late, and if they got caught then each one of them would receive a detention.

---

Lily and James walked hand in hand back toward the castle. It was such a romantic walk, the stars were bright and the night was cool. James had left his broom in the locker rooms; he had practice the next day.

"So you really did have fun then?" James asked.

"Yes, I did… Thanks for taking me," Lily responded.

"It was fun."

James let go of Lily's hand and snaked his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer to himself. Lily liked that feeling and rested her head against him. They walked in silence for sometime, until they heard a voice.

"No Argus, I haven't seen any students out here," it was Hagrid's voice that they heard.

"Are you sure about that?" came the nasty, snarling voice of Mr. Filch.

Lily and James' eyes both widened with fear of being caught. "Come on," James whispered into Lily's ear. He pulled her over toward the wall of the castle, taking the two of them off of the pathway. Unfortunately, they would have to stay in that place until the coast was clear. They couldn't go back to the castle entrance from there because they would make too much noise if they stepped on a stick.

Unfortunately for them, Mr. Filch and Hagrid hadn't moved from their spot, and it was getting cold outside too.

James could feel Lily shivering next to him, so he slid his arms around, hoping to make her a little bit warmer. She rested her head against his perfectly toned chest, wanting nothing more than to hold him closer.

They stood that way for another fifteen minutes while Filch questioned Hagrid about students being outside. Once Filch had finally believed Hagrid, he left, going back up to the castle. Lily and James heard Hagrid sigh, and then he walked back to his hut.

"They're finally gone," James told Lily.

"I know," she responded, but didn't remove her head from his chest.

James looked down at her, wondering what she was thinking. He wasn't sure if he should release her from his arms, for she didn't seem to want him to.

Without James expecting, Lily whipped her head upward, stood on her toes, and kissed him. He was quite astonished to feel Lily's lips on his own, but even more surprised when he felt her tongue against his bottom lip, asking for entrance. He promptly complied, allowing their tongues to explore.

He gently tried pulling away from her mouth, wanting to kiss her neck, but she wouldn't allow it. As soon as he made any move to leave, she pulled him back up toward her lips. James didn't mind this though, he loved just kissing her, he kisses felt so amazing to him, and James truly felt like fireworks were being set off.

---

Neither one of them knew how long they stayed like that, just taking in each other. But they eventually broke away, making their way back toward the castle. Needless to say, both of them fell asleep, thinking of each other.

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**Author's Note 2:** Hope you all liked this chapter! Please review!


	15. Unexpected Visitor

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to lOvEiNhEaVeN, MonkeyGurl1, SlythrnSecret822, moony128, Phoebe, and every else who reviewed! It's the reviews that are making me write this fast!

* * *

Time seemed to have gone by so quickly, Lily couldn't believe that she and James had been dating for a little less than two months now. But they had indeed been together for that long, and neither one of them had ever been happier.

Lily was actually sad when Christmas break had come, it meant three weeks without seeing James. Of course, Lily was pleased to see her family and celebrate with them, but she missed James so much.

---

One day, about four days before the vacation would end, Lily found herself sitting on the couch reading a book she had received for Christmas. It was really quite interesting, and she became very involved in the characters and plot.

Lily was startled as she heard the doorbell ring, but went back to her book, thinking that her mother would answer it.

"Lily, would you mind getting that, I've got my hands full out here," her mother yelled from the kitchen.

Lily sighed, but got up and walked over toward the front door. She opened it up and saw none other than James Potter, standing there with a grin on his face.

"James!" Lily screamed, running into his arms and giving him a hug.

"Hi Lily," he said as he gave her a light kiss on the cheek.

"What on earth a re you doing here?" Lily asked, a puzzled expression on her face.

"I came to see you," he simply answered.

"James, as much as I love you being here, you really can't be here. My parents will freak," Lily explained.

Just then Lily's mom came to see what was happening at her front door, "Lily, are you going to introduce me to your friend?"

Lily blushed, realizing that she was still wrapped in James' arms. "Um, mum, this is James Potter, my boyfriend."

"Oh, so this is the infamous James Potter that I've heard endless stories about," Alexandra Evans exclaimed.

"Hello Mrs. Evans, it's a pleasure to be meeting you," James told Lily's mother.

"Oh, well, it's very nice to finally meet you…Now, James, will you be staying for dinner?" Alexandra asked.

"Well, actually, I should probably be heading back home, I didn't mean to interrupt your evening, Mrs. Evans," James responded.

"Oh, don't be silly. You'll stay, besides I'm sure Lily's father would love to meet you, and he isn't expected back for another twenty minutes," Alexandra told him.

"Oh, well, thank you very much Mrs. Evans."

Lily stared in shock, her mother had just asked James to stay for dinner. She wanted him there for dinner and to meet Lily's father. This was so unlike her mother.

---

Twenty minutes later, Richard Evans finally came home, expecting to find his two daughters and his beautiful wife waiting for him.

However, when he walked into the living room and saw a boy sitting next to his youngest daughter, he nearly had a heart attack. He hurried into the kitchen, waving his arms frantically at his wife.

"Do you know that Lily is with a boy, in our living room?" he questioned.

"Of course I do, Richard. I invited him to stay for dinner," she replied.

"Why did you do that?" he asked.

"Oh Richard, in case you haven't noticed, Lily is not a little girl anymore. She's seventeen years old, and she really likes this boy."

"The more reason not to let our little princess near him," Richard answered sternly.

"Richard, you are being unreasonable," Alexandra told her husband.

"It's not that I don't trust Lily, I know she would never do anything wrong. But, it's the boy I don't trust."

"Richard, you don't even know him, just give him a chance. From what Lily has said about him, he seems like a very nice young man," Alexandra responded, not letting her husband win this argument.

"Fine, he can stay for dinner, but then he's leaving," Richard replied.

"Okay," Alexandra replied.

---

"So, James, Lily tells us that you're Head Boy this year," Alexandra said, trying to make conversation.

"Yes, I really wasn't expecting it, but for some reason Professor Dumbledore chose me," James answered.

"And why weren't you expecting it?" Richard asked. Lily was going red as she heard her father ask the question, she hated him sometimes. Whenever Lily had invited a guy over, even if he was just a friend, her dad had asked questions which really shouldn't have been asked.

"Well, Mr. Evans, to put it quite bluntly, I wasn't always the best student at school. I mean, my grades were fine, but as Lily used to so nicely say, 'I was an arrogant prat.', James responded. "But, I changed over the summer, and apparently Professor Dumbledore knew that, and he chose me."

Petunia sat across from Lily at the table, she had a smirk on her face. And Lily could only imagine what she was thinking. And it was probably along the lines of, 'Wow, you call him a boyfriend? Dad hates him, it's so obvious.' Or she might be thinking, 'My Vernon passed the Dad test, I bet James can't.'

There was a moment of silence, Lily's father seeming to accept James' answer. "Did I tell you that James is also captain of the Quidditch team?" Lily asked her parents.

"Oh, is that so? Well, you must be quite the ideal student now," Alexandra announced, "I mean, Head Boy and Quidditch captain."

James blushed a little at her praise, not quite sure what to say to that.

"So, James, now what is it that you plan on doing after Hogwarts?" Richard asked.

"Well, there are lots of options. I was thinking probably an auror, which I guess would be similar to a police officer, am I right Lily?"

"Um, yes. I guess they are," she responded.

Richard perked up at this, "Really? Well, that is a good modest career," Richard told James. Lily just realized that her father may have a different view on James now, after all her father had been in the police department in London for twenty-five years, until he was shot. Then her mother wouldn't allow him to rejoin the force.

"Yes, I've been thinking about it for quite sometime now. And that always seems like the perfect career for me. Although, my mother isn't fond of it, she thinks that I'll get hurt or something," James responded.

"Oh, yes, I know the feeling. You know, I was once in the police department in London," Richard began. He then went about telling James bunches of stories of when he was an officer. Lily thanked God that it seemed to hold James' interest; her father just loved telling the story to anyone who would listen.

As he told the story, Lily glanced over at Petunia. The smirk was wiped off her face. Vernon hadn't been accepted this much by the Evans' family, not even after months of getting to know him. And here James was, and Richard had liked him the first day they had met.

One Lily's father had finished with his stories, and dinner was nearly done James decided to mention the real reason he had come.

"It's been so nice meeting you all, Mr. Evans, Mrs. Evans, Petunia. You have been so kind to me, and it's been so nice seeing Lily. I've missed you so much, my mum finally started complaining that I talked too much about you. She said that you seemed like a wonderful person, and she really wants to meet you," James said.

"Oh, well, I really want to meet her sometime too," Lily replied.

"You know what would be great, if you could come back to my house with me and meet her. She'd be very pleased, and since there aren't many days left in the break, we could just take you with us to King's Cross," James announced.

Lily looked startled at his words, go back with him, to his house. Her parents would never approve.

James then added as an afterthought, "If it's alright with you, Mr. and Mrs. Evans."

Her parents looked at each other for a moment. Lily was surprised that they didn't say right there and then 'no.'

"I think we need to talk it over before we make any decisions," Richard responded. Lily could almost feel her eyes pop out of her head, her parents were actually considering letting her spend the rest of the break at James' house.

---

Lily and James were sitting in the living room talking when Lily's parents entered the room.

"We need to know a few things before we decide," Alexandra told the couple.

"First, James, your parents are going to be home, right?" Richard asked.

"Of course," James replied.

"And Lily would be sleeping in a different room?" Alexandra questioned.

"Yes, we've got plenty of guest bedrooms," he replied.

"And this is alright with your parents?" Alexandra asked.

"Yes, they are quite keen on meeting Lily."

"Well then, I guess that you can go Lily," Richard told his daughter.

Lily and James both smiled. James was so happy that Lily could come, he wanted to be with her so bad. Lily was pleased as well, getting to spend time alone with James would be nice. Of course, she did wonder why her parents had allowed her to go, but she didn't care as long as she was able to go.

"And Lily, remember to owl me as soon as you get to James' house, and as soon as you get to Hogwarts," Alexandra reminded.

"I will mum," she replied. Then went over and gave her parents each a gigantic hug.

---

Soon enough, Lily was all packed and ready to go. She said her good-byes to her parents and sister, and then found herself apparating over to the Potter manor.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Wow, I think that this is the longest chapter that I have ever written! Go me! Anyways, please review!


	16. Meet The Potters

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to Desolation Lily, Monkey Gurl1, james' girl, SlythrnSecret822, SevenPeach, angrypickle, gatoriris, black and potter, lOvEiNhEaVeN, moony128, J.E.A.R.K Potter, and madison for reviewing! It means so much to me to hear what you think of it!

* * *

Lily landed with a 'pop' in front of James' house. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw it; it was huge. She knew the Potters were one of the oldest, most respected, and richest families in the magic world, but she still gasped when she saw the house.

It was a huge, Victorian style house. There were three floors to it, and one area turned into a dome. Along the second and part of the third floors, there were balconies, making the house look even more elegant. Lily was amazed already, and she had only seen the front of the mansion.

James took Lily's bags in one hand, and with the other, he guided her into the house. Once Lily entered, she realized that the house extended backward, giving it an even more spacious feeling.

"James! Where have you been? I've had Lula search the whole house!" A woman with brown hair, and James' hazel eyes yelled. Lily thought that she must be James' mother.

"Mum, I'd like to introduce you to Lily Evans," was all James said, his voice was calm.

"Oh, my, forgive me dear. It's so nice to finally meet you, I'm James' mother, Linda," the woman told Lily.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mrs. Potter," Lily responded.

"Now, James, did you go to Lily's house?" her voice was kind and soft.

"Well, yes, you told me that I should invite her to come up, so I did," he explained. Lily had a feeling that James' mother hadn't really meant for Lily to come, but she wasn't about to make her leave.

"Well, I'll have Lula bring her stuff up to one of the rooms, and make up the bed. James, take her on the tour of the house, we don't want her to get lost," Linda pleasantly replied.

With that said, Linda left to go find Lula, leaving the couple behind.

"So, James, who's Lula?" Lily asked.

"Oh, she's just one of the house elves," he replied casually.

"You have house elves?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, I think there are five of them, or maybe four. I can't remember."

"You can't remember! James that's horrible," Lily told him.

"No, I just wasn't sure if one died yet or not," James explained.

"What? James, that's even worse." Apparently, he should have held his tongue at the last remark.

"Lils, let's stop talking about the elves, and I'll show you the grand tour," James told her.

Lily followed him into the dining room. It was truly gorgeous. In the middle was the table, which Lily could have sworn seated fifteen people. On the walls were paintings of who she was guessing, were James' family.

"Okay, this is the dining room. You can come down here anytime you're hungry, Fitz, another house elf, will pretty much always be in here," James told her.

---

Once Lily was given the grand tour of the house, which consisted of the dining room, kitchen, two living rooms, a ball room, her bedroom, her own bathroom, and James' room. James decided not to take her to the other bedrooms or bathrooms. Lily was very tired from walking around the house, and James hadn't even gotten the chance to show her the outside yet!

Lily and James sat in the first floor living room, talking more about how each of their vacations had gone.

"Hello, you must be Lily," Lily heard a man say as he entered the room. As soon as Lily saw him, she knew that he was James' father. He had the same messy, black hair as his son. His built was similar as well, in fact, the only difference besides age that Lily noticed were the eyes. James had hazel, his father's were blue.

"Hello," Lily responded.

"I am James' father, Gerald," he told his son's girlfriend. "We are so glad that you could join us for the remainder of the break, and especially glad that you could make it to the party."

"Party?" Lily questioned.

"Oh, yes. Didn't James tell you about his mother's New Years Eve party?"

"No, but I'm sure that it will be delightful," Lily answered.

"Um, yes. Well, I'll leave you two alone, I've got plenty of things to do," Gerald told them. And with a smile on his face, he left the room.

"New Years Eve party?" Lily asked James, an expecting look on her face.

"Yes," he said shyly.

"And when were you planning on telling me about this?" Lily asked, trying her best to remain calm.

"Tomorrow," he answered.

"But James, tomorrow is New Year's Eve. I can't believe you didn't tell me, I didn't bring anything to wear. At least not for something that would satisfy the fanciness of your house!"

"I'll find something," he replied.

"I still can't believe you didn't tell me, you can be such an ass sometimes."

"You know what, why don't I get you something to drink," James offered, trying to find some reason to get out of the room.

James hurried out the room, and into the kitchen. He gathered up two glasses and filled them with butterbeer. On his way out, he saw his father standing there, a grin on his face.

"She's quite a catch you've got there son," Gerald remarked.

"Yeah, she's one of a kind," James replied. "Dad, why on earth did you have to bring up the party? I didn't tell her yet."

"I noticed that."

The two men stayed in silence for a little while, unsure of what to say next. But James soon broke the silence and said, "I really like her."

"I know you do. I can tell by the way you look at her."

"Really?" James asked.

"Yes, well that and the fact that you apparated over to her house, stayed there for dinner, managed to get her parents to allow her to come, and invite her here without asking your mum. Oh, and making your mum go crazy with worry about you while you were gone," Gerald replied with a smile.

James thought about what his father had just said and he too smiled. Never in his life had he done anything remotely similar for any girl before.

"I'd better get going back," James told his father. Gerald smiled, and James left the room to return to Lily.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Okay, compared to my last chapter, this one is really, really, short. Sorry about that! Anyways, please review! Oh, and here's a picture of James' house. I found it online and fell in love with it! (Okay, it won't let me put the website on this page, so I put the link in my profile- under Loving You)


	17. Nightmares

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to MonkeyGurl1, fuzzycat982, SevenPeach, Jillie, cookiegurl, Desolation Lily, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, and lilchocolatechip011 for reviewing! It means sooo much to me!

lilchocolatechip011: Um, I read your review, and (sorry I'm kind of slow during the summer) so, do you want me to email you when I update? If you do, you can email me or leave a review saying so. I wasn't sure! Sorry!

Fuzzycat982: Sorry I didn't update in forever, but I've got a good excuse. The day after I updated Loving You, I updated Love Affair, and Love Affair was a lot longer than I expected, so I didn't have time to write this. And the day after that, I went up to Kennebunk Port for the entire day, so I didn't have time to update. Sorry!

* * *

_Lily walked into her house, "Mum, dad, Petunia are you here?" she asked._

_She went into the living room, and saw her mother, her face in front of the window. "Mum! There you are, I just called your name and you didn't respond," Lily told her._

_"I'm sorry dear," came a voice, but it wasn't her mum's. The voice was cold and belonged to a man. The person turned around, the face wasn't her mother's, it was Lord Voldermort!_

_"And now, you silly girl, where is he?" he asked, eyes glaring at her._

_"Where's who?"_

_"Don't play games with me or you'll end up like those dratted muggle parents of yours," he growled._

_"I honestly don't know," she began, whimpering at every word._

_"Where is Potter?" he screamed at her._

_"I don't know," was all she could answer, a frightened look on her face._

_"Very well," he growled, and then he took out his wand, pointed it at her and yelled, "Avada…_

Lily awoke to find herself in the guest bedroom at the Potter Manor, her breathing was deep, her heart was racing, and she could feel the sweat on her body. Her mind was racing, trying to get rid of that awful dream, but she couldn't. She couldn't get those red, beady eyes out of her mind, she couldn't get the thought of her parents dead out of her mind, and she couldn't get the thought of You-know-who, asking her where James was, out of her mind.

Lily rested her head back down on the pillow, trying to go back to sleep. Her eyes were shut, but quickly opened again because she saw those red eyes whenever her eyes closed, even if it was only for a second.

She just stayed in bed, trying and failing to go back to sleep when she heard the sound of running water across the hall. 'Whose room is across the hall?' she asked herself, then realizing that it was James' room and bathroom, she pulled the covers off and hopped out of bed.

She hesitated for a moment, not sure what she was going to say to him. But she knocked on the door anyways. She heard movement coming toward her, and then the door opened, revealing James. His hair was messier than usual, and his eyes seemed to be adjusting to the light. He was wearing only a pair of boxers and a t-shirt, and if Lily hadn't been so freaked out about her dream she would have noticed how strong his arms looked.

"Lily? What are you doing here, it's three in the morning, go back to sleep," he said, somewhat grumpy that his sleep was being put off to a halt.

"I know, I'm sorry. I just had to, had to see you," she told him.

"What was so bloody important that you couldn't wait until the morning?"

"I had a nightmare, and you were mentioned in it. You-know-who was asking me where you were," she told him.

James let out a sigh, and then said, "Well, come in here, I don't want you to wake up my folks."

She followed him inside, shutting the door behind herself.

As Lily began to tell him about her nightmare, James started to feel bad for her. Here she was in a completely foreign house, not knowing where anything is, and she had a nightmare that seemed to have scared her pretty badly.

Once her story was complete, James pulled Lily into a big hug, holding her tightly. Lily loved being in his arms, it made her feel wonderful, as if nothing bad would happen while she was with him. He kissed the top of her head, and then pulled away.

"Lils, do you want to stay in here with me?" he asked, nodding toward his king size bed. "I promise I won't try to shag you," he added quickly, not wanting her to jump to any conclusions.

She looked at him for a moment, unsure if she should or not. Lily knew that if her parents found out, they would never allow her at his house again, and she didn't know how James' parents would react. But on the other side, she wanted to be with him. She wanted him to wrap his strong arms around her, making her feel safe.

"You wouldn't mind?" she asked shyly.

"Lily Evans, I would love it," he replied, "Besides what are boyfriends for."

Lily smiled at his comment, and then jumped into the bed.

"Um, Lils. There's a slight problem though."

Lily looked up at him, wondering what was wrong.

"You see, that's my side of the bed, and since it's my bed, I get to choose the side."

Lily laughed and threw a pillow at him before rolling over to the other side of the bed.

Once settled into the bed, James draped his arms around Lily, holding her close to him. They both stayed awake for some time in a comfortable silence. Then James heard Lily's breaths becoming relaxed and constant, he knew that she had fallen asleep. James glanced down at the love of his life, placing a kiss on the top of her head once again. Then he too drifted off into a comfortable sleep.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Hope you all liked chapter 17! Wow, I just realized how long this story is going to be, I've got plans for Lily and James for quite a long time after this scene. Anyways, please review!


	18. New Year's Party

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to lOvEiNhEaVeN, MissMrprk, vickiicky, SevenPeach, stef, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, MonkeyGurl1, and Madison for reviewing! It means sooo much to hear what you all think of my story!

* * *

The next morning Lily awoke to find James right by her side. She smiled as she remembered how he had comforted, he was so sweet to her. Lily didn't wake James up, but she was pretty sure that she should head back into her own room. If anyone had found them sharing the same bed, the wrong type of conclusions would be made.

As Lily quietly pulled the covers off, she felt James arm snake its way around her waist. She looked down at him, ready to scold him, but she saw his eyes were shut. Lily really didn't want to wake him, but she needed to get out of the bed before someone came in.

She began to slowly pull his arm off her and set it down on the bed. She then proceeded to swing her legs around, and then leave the room. However, as soon as she sat up, James pulled her back down, "Where are you going?"

"James, oh, you're awake. I was just going back to my room before someone came in," she explained.

"Don't bother," he told her, still not releasing her from his grip.

"James."

"I'm serious, they're too busy with the crap for the party tonight that they won't come in room until ten minutes before it starts," he assured her.

"But still, I should really be going," Lily tried.

"No, I don't want you to go," he said, trying his hardest to look adorable.

"James, stop," Lily whined, unable to resist his charm.

"I don't want to stop," he told her, smirking as he pulled Lily onto his lap.

"James, really," Lily began.

"Really, you really want me to," he asked, his eyes glittering with mischief.

"What on earth are you saying now?" Lily questioned.

"Lils, don't talk," he whispered, and then kissed her softy on the lips.

Lily couldn't resist his kisses, she never could. Even though she knew it was proper for her to be kissing James in his bedroom, wearing only a nightgown, she did it anyways. His tongue slid against her lips, wanting entrance, which she allowed instantly.

As the kisses became more passionate, Lily found herself underneath James. She was breathing hard when she felt his lips against the soft flesh of her neck, playing and teasing her. Lily moaned slightly, wanting him to continue, which he did.

However, much to Lily's displeasure, she felt his hands against her thighs, trying to make their way under her nightgown. "James, no," she told him.

At those words, James stopped what he was doing and looked up at her face. Her eyes told him that she wasn't ready, and reluctantly, James backed off.

"Sorry," he said, breathing hard against her.

"It's okay, I'm just not ready," she replied, her face turning red as she said it.

James noticed how uncomfortable the topic was making Lily and decided it would probably be a good idea to get off of her.

---

Several hours later, Lily and James found themselves at the party. To Lily, it was amazing; she had never seen anything like it before. For one, the Potter's had a gigantic ballroom in their house, which could have seated 200 people minimum. The place was truly decked out, and Lily was amazed at all the beautiful dressed people all around her.

Of course, the Potter's weren't going to allow Lily to embarrass herself by showing up wearing simple clothing, so they had picked out a gorgeous light blue gown for her to wear, and the house elves shrunk it to fit her figure perfectly. In James' opinion, and many other people's opinions, Lily was clearly the most beautiful woman at the party.

"Oh my God, James, this is so cool," Lily exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah, but when you've been every year since you were born, they can get a bit dull," he told her.

"What are you talking about? This is so much fun, and oh my God, is that the Minister of Magic?"

"Yeah, he's pretty nice, can be a bit cross at times though," James replied.

"Wait a second, you personally know the Minister of Magic?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, he comes for dinner a lot." James noticed the dumbstruck look Lily had been wearing on her face and added, "He's been a friend of my dad's since Hogwarts."

"Well, still, this is so much fun!" Lily exclaimed, looking as excited as a child on Halloween.

James let out a smile chuckle; she just looked so thrilled to be there.

"And what may I ask is so funny?" Lily asked him.

"You."

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Lily asked alarmingly.

James laughed again. He couldn't believe how much his laughter was freaking her out. "No… You just look so happy to be at my mother's party. And the only thing more boring then them, are Professor Binns lectures."

"What are you talking about? This is amazing!" Lily shrieked.

"Sure, whatever," James said while throwing his hands up in defeat.

Just then, their conversation was cut short by a man speaking, "Well if it isn't James Potter, I haven't seen you in quite awhile."

"Hey, Mr. Bristow," James told the Minister of Magic.

"How have you been lately? Not causing too much trouble for Dumbledore, are you?" he asked.

"Well, I'm keeping him on his toes," James joked.

"That you always are James," he laughed.

"Oh, and this is my girlfriend, Lily Evans," James said once Mr. Bristow had stopped chuckling.

"Ah, yes, it's very nice to meet you Miss Evans," he told her as he shook her hand.

"It's nice to meet you too, sir," she responded, hoping that she didn't sound too out of place at such an extraordinary gathering. James seemed to notice this, and he slid an arm around Lily's waist, as if to assure her that he wouldn't leave her side.

"Well, Mr. Bristow, it was nice seeing you, but unfortunately there are other guests that I've got to show Lily off to," James said. And as he said it, Lily felt her face reddening, but the Minister of Magic laughed and said his goodbyes.

Once they were out of his hearing, James whispered, "See, what I'd tell you, these parties are awful."

But Lily didn't have time to respond as another person walked up to the two of them. This time he looked about their age, maybe a little older. He had dark brown hair, and the same hazel eyes as James.

"Hello, James, who's' your friend?" he asked.

"This, is my girlfriend, Lily," James began, and then added, "Lily, this is my cousin, Elijah."

"Hello, you look lovely," Elijah told her, and he took her hand in his, and lightly kissed it.

As soon as his lips touched her skin, James went mad with fury. He hated other people touching Lily, but most of all, he hated his cousin. Elijah had always loved to have everything James had, and most of the time, he got it too. James pulled Lily closer to himself, not letting Elijah charm his way into Lily's heart.

"I hope my cousin is treating you right," Elijah told her, a dazzling smile on his face.

"Oh, he's such a sweetie," Lily responded, and playfully flashed a smile of pearly whites at him.

"Yes, well, it does run in the family," Elijah responded, a hint of an egotistical tone in his voice.

"I'm sure it does," Lily responded.

James looked at his cousin, hatred written all over his face. Then he said, "Come on Lils."

She looked a little confused, but followed him anyways.

---

After nearly an hour of mingling with people who Lily had just met, and who James really could care less about, James decided it was time to leave the party. Besides, Elijah had been hanging around Lily a little too much for James' liking. Always trying to get James out of the picture, and flirting with her whenever he got the chance.

"Come on Lils," James said as he grasped her hand in his own.

"Where are we going?" she asked, not really sure if she wanted to go off somewhere with him.

"Just outside, I've had enough of this party already," he responded.

Lily allowed him to lead her out to the back yard, where the only source of light was a candle on the patio.

Lily planted her feet on the patio, not sure what they were doing out here. And as she stood there, she took a good look at the Potter's backyard, well, as good a look one can get when it's dark outside. She saw a figure that looked like a gazebo overlooking a pond, and beyond that, she thought that she could vaguely see the outline of three hoops in the air, which she assumed were part of a small quidditch area.

"Come on," James told her as he started to walk down off of the pathway.

"James, where are we going? Its pitch black outside," Lily whined.

"I know, which is why I have my wand," and with that said, James enchanted his wand to make a lighted.

"You still didn't tell me where we're going."

"That's because I don't know where we're going," he responded, and then smiled at her.

The couple began to walk around the pond, not sure as to where they should go next. Then Lily spotted a tree, and went to go sit down beneath it. "Come on, I'm tired of walking around, I'm wearing really big heels you know," Lily commented.

"Alright," he responded, sitting down next to her.

"James, what's bugging you?" Lily asked.

James looked her in the eye, she always could sense when he was upset, and not even his best friends could do it as well as she could. "Nothing."

"James, don't lie to me."

James let out a sigh, but didn't say anything.

"Is it your cousin?" she asked.

James looked into her bright green eyes once again, "How do you do it?"

"Do what? Know when something bothering you?" she asked.

"Yes, and know what it is too," he responded.

"I don't know, call it woman's intuition," she joked. "No, actually, I could see the death glares the two of you were shooting at each other."

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," he told her.

"Now, why would you be sorry?" she asked.

"I don't know, just seemed like the right thing to say," he answered, and then saw Lily laugh at his comment.

"You know, he's not my taste," Lily told, and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"He's not?"

"No, he's too, just ewe. And way too high maintenance for me."

"Go on," James prodded.

Lily let out another giggle, and then said, "I like my guys sweet, and caring, and charming, and funny, and don't take as long as I do to get ready."

"Hmm, sounds like someone I might know," James kidded.

"Really? Do you think you could set me up with him?" Lily asked, and then gave him a light kiss on the lips.

"If you do that again, then I might be able to make an arrangement," James told her.

Lily kissed him again, and then said, "I'd like that."

"Good, because I know him pretty well, and I think you two will be very happy together."

Lily laughed once more, and then settled down to watching the stars above her. She was in complete bliss, resting under the tree, with the man she adored.

---

After a comfortable silence James began to look at the pond, mischief glowing in his eyes, and then asked, "How cold do think it is in there?"

"I don't know, it's pretty cold out here though, and I'm surprised that it's not frozen over," Lily responded.

James smiled at her, knowing that it had a spell that made it 80 degrees no matter what the temperature outside was, and said, "You want to see just how cold it is?"

"Are you bloody mad?"

"No, come on," he told her.

"No, I'm not going in there James Potter, I'll freeze to death," she responded.

"Oh, come on Lils, it'll be fun," he teased.

"No, and you can't make me."

"Want to bet?" he asked as he picked her up from her spot on the ground.

"James, put me down!" Lily shrieked.

"Alright, I will."

And with that said he jumped into the pond, taking Lily with him. Lily was surprised to feel that the water was warm against her cold skin. And she was lucky that they were in shallow water as well, because her dress was dragging her down.

"See, aren't you glad you came in?" James teased, popping up behind her.

Lily turned to see his smiling face being illuminated from the wand which was left only feet from the pond. He had a devilish look to his face, but at the same time he looked so sweet and innocent.

"Yes, I'll admit it, its fine in here. But, it's going to be bloody freezing walking back to your house," she responded.

"Well, as long as you're enjoying yourself now," he replied.

Suddenly, James felt a huge splash of water against him. And he heard Lily's giggling voice in front of him. So, with the first splash established, the two of them swam along the edge of the pond, splashing each other and having fun.

It wasn't until Lily found herself wrapped in James' arms after a splash did the fun moment die down. Lily looked up and saw James's warm eyes dancing with joy. He looked so amazing, and she kissed him, allowing herself the pleasure of being in his embrace.

It wasn't until some time later when they found it hard to support themselves in the water, and they had been backing up toward the edge of the pond.

"James, I think we should probably get back inside now," Lily told him, her teeth now chattering together.

"Yeah, it's getting late and pretty cold out here," he agreed.

With that said, the couple made their way out of the pond, Lily's dress dragging her down, and making her feel twice as cold. She shivered against the brisk temperatures that she was forced to face. Quickly, the couple made their way back to the house, and into nice hot, (separate) showers.

---

After getting warmed up, Lily and James found themselves by a nice, hot fire in the second floor living room. They were sitting on the couch, cuddled up together, and soon fast asleep. And that was where Linda and Gerald Potter found their son and his girlfriend. Both of them couldn't help but think how sweet they looked together.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** I hope you all like this chapter! It's the longest chapter I've ever written! Anyways, please review!


	19. A Simple Game

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to lOvEiNhEaVeN, MissMrprk, libyanauthor, MonkeyGurl1, stef, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, moony128, SevenPeach, Whitepaw, and cilverblood for reviewing! It means sooo much to hear that you all like my story!

* * *

"You wouldn't believe what happened during the break," Lily said to her four closest friends. The girls were on the train back to Hogwarts, all refreshed from their nice, long holiday break.

"What?" Gracie asked excitedly.

"Well, James came to my house, totally unexpected. And my mother invited him to dinner," Lily began.

"Oh my God, your dad must have had a fit," Zoë commented. Each of the girls knew how Richard Evans acted toward any of Lily's boyfriends. He hated them all, well, in actuality, he didn't want his little girl to have a boy in her life. He didn't want his little girl to get hurt.

"Actually, I swear to God, James must have jinxed both my parents to love him. He actually listened to my father's stories about when he was a cop, and _I can't_ even listen to them, they are just that boring," Lily told the group.

"My God, what happened next?" Gracie asked.

"Well, James asked if I could spend the rest of the break at his house."

"No shit, your dad must have kicked him out for just suggesting that," Scarlett said.

"Actually, no, I spent the rest of the break with James and his family," Lily told them.

"Oh my God… Did you have sex with him?" Marissa asked.

"What? No, I wouldn't, especially not at his parents house," Lily screamed.

"Hey, it was just a simple question, besides it _is James Potter_," Marissa commented.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lily asked, her temper slightly rising.

"Lils, everybody knows he's, well, he's experienced, and he really likes you. So, I guess, I just figured he would…want to," Marissa explained.

"Yes, well, it's still me, James isn't going to change my morals," Lily snapped.

"Alright, I'm sorry. I guess I should have known better," Marissa apologized, holding her hands up in defeat.

Just as the argument was about to heat up, the Marauders decided to bless the ladies with their presence.

"Hello," Sirius told the group in a cheerful voice.

"Black, what are you so damn happy about?" Zoë asked.

"Nothing, just wanted to see my favorite girls from Gryffindor," he replied.

"What are you up to?" Zoë snapped.

"Absolutely nothing," was the response.

"Okay Black, what did you do to Snape this time?" Zoë questioned.

"Why do you always assume I'm doing something to Snivellus?" Sirius asked, his eyes full of fury.

"Don't play games with me, Black. I can read you like a book, what have you done now?"

"Zoë, Zoë, Zoë, why can't you just trust me?"

"Because, it's you," she snapped.

Lily couldn't help but smile at the two. This is how they have always been, ever since Zoë made the Quidditch team. She always knew exactly what Sirius Black was up to, and Sirius resented her for that. The two usually always spoke decent words to each other, but deep down inside, they were ready to tear each other's throats out.

"Okay, okay, Padfoot, you go sit over there," Remus told his friend, pointing to the far left corner of the compartment, "And Zoë, you go sit there. And both of you just shut up." Now the two were at completely opposite ends of the room, trying hard not to notice each other.

---

After moments of mindless talking, Marissa exclaimed, "I am so fucking bored!"

"Well, what do you want to do then?" Scarlett asked.

"Hmm, let's play a game," Marissa responded.

"Like what?" Peter asked.

"Okay, I know this is really childish, but let's play truth or dare. It'll make the time pass by," Gracie suggested.

Once everyone had agreed to play, the game began! However, the Marauders wouldn't agree to play unless it was strip truth or dare. And they had even managed to concoct some charm that made you turn purple for a week if you lied.

"Alright, who's' going first?" Lily asked, not really sure she wanted to play the game at all. Nevertheless, she couldn't just back out now, she had to play the stupid game.

"I'll go first," Gracie offered, "Okay, Sirius, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Give Snape a big kiss on the lips," Gracie dared.

"You've got to be shiting me," Sirius replied while he took off his shoes. "Okay, Zoë, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Okay, go down to Snape's compartment and flash him," Sirius told her, a grin on his face.

"You, dirty, little whoreish man. I won't do it, not on the train," she replied, while taking off her shoes.

The game went on smoothly for quite some time. Marissa ended up having to run up and down the train singing at the top of her lungs, Peter had to ask Zola Miller out on a date, and she was one of the most horrific girls in school. Lily had to describe in detail about her first kiss, which did not make James very happy at all. And Sirius had to go around the entire train asking girls for a lap dance until he got one. Needless to say, it was an interesting game.

However, one question in particular made Lily silently wish she had never been on that train.

"So, James, who was your first shag?" Gracie asked.

James silently cursed Gracie for asking that, especially in front of Lily. And either way he answered, Lily would know he wasn't a virgin. 'Damn you Gracie Pennant,' he silently thought. She could be so dumb at times, asking questions like that.

Lily's heart was racing, she didn't want to know, but at the same time, curiosity came over her. And, it wasn't until that day that she had even thought about James with someone. In fact, she had never really given the topic much thought at all.

"I, well, I'd rather not say," James told her, taking off Gryffindor tie. His face was flushed as he answered, and he wouldn't look Lily in the eye.

"You know, I think we've all had enough of this game," Scarlett told the group. Lily was so thankful at Scarlett's words, she always knew when the tension had built up, she always knew when the subject was difficult for others to handle.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Remus agreed. "And, in fact, we should probably get back to our compartment, we're almost at school now, and we'll have to get our luggage."

The Marauders followed Remus out of the compartment, shutting the door behind them. Lily let out a sigh as she watched them leave; she just wanted to be alone.

"I think I'm going to go check on how everything's going," Lily told the group, walking out of the compartment.

"Should someone go with her?" Gracie asked, uncertainty in her voice.

"No, she needs to be alone," Scarlett told the group softly. Then she too got up, and said, "I'm going to go see Travis."

---

Once Lily was out of the compartment, she walked around aimlessly, trying to find an empty compartment for herself. Lily finally did find one, it was at the very end of the train, so Lily was sure she wouldn't be interrupted from her thoughts.

However, Lily didn't seem to be getting very lucky these days. James Potter had found her there no less than five minutes after she was settled.

"Lily, I think we should talk," James began.

"Why?"

"Well, because, I don't want there to be any more awkward moments like we had before," he explained.

"What are you talking about? I mean, I knew you weren't a virgin, I shouldn't have been so surprised that you wouldn't answer the question," she responded.

"Lily, please don't be mad at me. I was a stupid kid, a very stupid kid," James told her.

"Just tell me who it was," Lily said softly.

"That's not important."

"It is to me," she told him, trying not to let her emotions get the best of her.

"Marissa," he quietly told her, his voice wasn't higher than a whisper.

"What?" Lily snapped.

"I'm sorry, I should have told you, I really should have," James apologized.

"When?" Lily asked, her voice full of astonishment.

"I don't know… Maybe, the summer before sixth year. But Lily, you have to believe me, we never meant for it to happen, we were both at some party, and things got all messed up," James told her.

"You never told me… she never told me… why didn't you fucking tell me?" Lily yelled.

"I'm sorry, I really am," James told her.

"James, she's one of my best friends."

"I know, but it was a long time ago. And we both regret it," he earnestly told her.

Lily looked into his eyes, she wanted to see if his words matched his mind. She saw love, care, and hurt in his eyes. He hadn't meant to do that, he hadn't meant for Lily to get hurt, and it was a long time ago.

"Just promise me, no more secrets," Lily told him.

James smiled, and said, "I promise, and I'm going to tell you them all right now. First, there's the Marauder's Map, which I have right here." He pulled out a blank piece of parchment and said, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Just then, marking s began to appear everywhere, showing the map of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. Lily was astonished; she saw the names of her professors, and the names of the students that had stayed for Christmas Break.

"Oh my God," she whispered.

"You can't tell anyone about this, but its how we sneak off into Hogsmeade and down to the kitchens without getting caught," James told her, he was a bit nervous about what she would think of it.

"And you made this? You, and Sirius and Remus and Peter?" she asked.

"Well, yes, back in second or third year," he answered.

"This is bloody brilliant," Lily told him.

James let out a sigh of relief, thanking God that she wasn't going to lecture him on the importance of following the rules.

"Do you know how much time we can save by not having to roam the halls? We can just look at your map, and then we'll some kid sneaking off, and go knock some points off," Lily told him excitedly.

James laughed at her remark and then said, "That's you, Lils, always wanting to get every kid to get the punishment they deserve."

"Well, no, but it could come in handy, you know, so we could spend more time studying for the NEWTS this year," she reasoned.

James laughed, Lily was always so ambitious at getting the best grades in the school. "Yeah, and if you want to really shock those damn Slytherins, I've got an invisibility cloak that we can sneak up on them with."

"Oh my God, you've got one of those things? They are so rare, where'd you get it?"

"My dad gave it to me, right before I came to Hogwarts," James told his girlfriend.

The two spent the rest of the train ride talking. Lily told him how awful her sister really was to her, which she had never admitted to anyone before, and James had told her about the dirt incident with Shaun, which thankfully Lily found hilarious.

In fact, the only thing that James hadn't mentioned was that Remus was a werewolf, and that he, Sirius, and Peter had become animagi. James felt that she didn't need to know this, as much as he loved her, this wasn't something that she needed to know.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Hope you all liked it! I know it was a bit random compared to my other chapters, but it was somewhat necessary for something in later chapters to take place. Anyways, please review!


	20. More Nightmares

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to MaskedEnchantress, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, angrypickle, SevenPeach, womanofthepast, riley, SlythrnSecret822, moony128, and MonkeyGurl1 for reviewing! I'm so happy, I got over 100 reviews! Yay!

* * *

_Lily was sitting in a strange room, and she couldn't quite make out what it looked like. All she knew was that it felt cold, not literally, but it had a coldness to it. She felt like she shouldn't be here, and trembled in spite of the surroundings. _

_Lily hadn't seen anything remotely similar to this place, and honestly wished she hadn't been there in the first place. She felt like she was standing in a deep, dark hole, with no one there to save her._

_Suddenly, she heard a voice. She could faintly recognize it, it was the same cold voice from her dream, it was Voldermort. _

_"Have you ever seen someone die?" he asked. She could feel his breathe against the back of her neck, it sent shivers up her spine. She didn't like him behind her, she didn't like not knowing where he was. _

_When Lily didn't answer, Voldermort said, "Answer me you silly girl!"_

_"No," Lily answered as she trembled beneath the intensity of the Dark Lord._

_"Hmm, well, I hope you have an enjoyable first time," he snickered. _

_Lily's heart began to quicken, and she watched as Scarlett came into view. Scarlett was whimpering as she saw Lord Voldermort. He had an odd, twisted, almost smile on his face, as if he enjoyed nothing better than to torture those who were muggle-born and muggle-born supporters. _

_"Now, you filthy mudblood, tell me where he is, or this one dies," Voldermort yelled. His beady, red eyes seemed to glare into her soul, despising everything about her. _

_"Who?" Lily asked, and once again she was stuttering her words. Fear was overtaking her more now than ever before. She feared those eyes, she feared them more than his cold voice, more than the fate which would surely come, more than death itself._

_"James Potter," Voldermort replied grimly, eyeing her every move. Lily could tell he see into her soul, see how affected her. _

_"I don't know," Lily cried._

_He waved his wand, and suddenly Scarlett's hands wrapped around her own neck, strangling herself. Voldermort smiled at his ingenious plan of torture._

_"Stop!" Lily begged._

_"Tell me," he demanded._

_"I don't know," Lily cried._

_"Very well…Avada"_

Lily's head shot straight up, and barely missed the bed above her own. She felt hot, and drenched with her own sweat. Her heart was beating furiously, and the adrenaline from the realistic dream was coming.

She took a few deep breaths, and tried to reassure herself that it was only a dream. Voldermort hadn't tortured Scarlett, he hadn't asked for James, and he certainly didn't murder her. Lily knew all of those facts were true, but she couldn't get how real the dream seemed to be. It really felt like she was there, felt like she had experienced the coldness, and had seen those red eyes.

Lily looked over at the clock by her bed, it read 1:30 a.m. Lily couldn't believe it, she had been asleep for no more than half an hour, yet her dream seemed to have lasted for hours in her mind.

Lily took a few more deep breaths, trying to get the imagines out of her mind.

However, it didn't work. Her brain was still focusing on the look of Scarlett strangling herself, and not being able to control it. So, Lily decided to do the only thing that may possibly work: she grabbed a book and headed down to the common room.

When she reached her destination, Lily saw that she was not alone. James was down there, his hand flying across a piece of parchment. She noticed piles of book surrounding his work space, and decided it would be best not to disturb him.

Lily was just about to turn back around and head back into her room, when she heard, "Lils, what are you doing?"

Lily's heart lightened a bit, just by him saying that, Lily knew she wasn't truly disturbing him too much. Or, he just needed an escape form what he was working on.

"Um, I was just going to do some reading," she responded while walking toward him.

"I'm guessing you couldn't sleep," James commented.

"Yeah," Lily admitted. "What about you, what are you doing down here?"

"Forgot about that Potions essay. Moony reminded me about an hour ago."

"Oh, well, I should go then," Lily said, but didn't move right away.

"No, stay," James told her as he pulled her down onto his lap. Lily felt a swift notion of relief come over her, just being in James' arms made her feel safe again. His strong arms were wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to the warmth of his body. She lent her head into his chest, resting there for a while. They stayed like that for a while, just sitting in complete silence.

After some time, Lily finally turned herself around in his arms. She wanted to face him, she wanted to look into his eyes and see what he was thinking about. She saw a look of love, but it was also mixed in with eagerness. She knew he wanted to kiss her, she could see it. She could feel the need in the way he held her; gentle, but fierce with desire.

Before Lily knew it, his lips were on her own once again. His lips were soft, and had an ease to them which Lily desired more than anything else. His lips traced an outline along her bottom lip, begging for entrance. She complied with his wished almost immediately.

As the couple kissed, Lily felt that her fears were somehow being drawn out if her and into him. She knew it sounded crazy, but it truly felt like he was taking some of the burden off of her, and onto himself. It was exactly what she needed, she needed her fears gone, she needed to be kissed, but most of all, she needed James.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Hey everyone! Just wanted to apologize about the lack of updates, but for a long time fanfiction wouldn't even let me log on! Anyways, here's chapter 20! I know it's short, but I felt that if I added more, it would totally ruin the moment. And, also, just to let you all know, I am working just about every day this week (that usually doesn't happen, I usually work one day a week, sometimes I don't even work for a week) but that means that I won't be able to update as much a s I'd like to, but bear with me! Anyways, please review!


	21. Snowball Fights

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to MonkeyGurl1, moony128, Desolation Lily, Prongs' Princess, SevenPeach, SlythrnSecret822, miss-mags-ak, and Flame Of Desire for reviewing! I just love getting reviews, it makes me wicked happy!

* * *

It was a beautiful day in late January, and James and Lily found themselves outside, walking along the snowy path. Classes had gotten out a mere half hour ago, but Lily and James decided to stay outside together.

The couple was walking hand in hand, enjoying their precious time together, which had not been happening too much. It always seemed that one of their friends had always popped up whenever Lily and James wanted time together, and Lily having such a soft heart, never told them to go away.

"My mum sent an owl to me the other day," James told his girlfriend, "She said that I had better not mess things up with you, or she'll kill me."

Lily smiled at that, she had grown to love Mrs. Potter, even if she was only at the Potters for a few days. "Is that so?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, I swear, that woman likes you better than she likes me," James replied jokingly.

"I wouldn't be surprised."

"What?" James asked, suddenly stopping in his tracks.

"Bloody hell, you are too easy sometimes. I was only kidding," Lily told him, a smile at her lips.

"I knew that," he responded, his eyes and voice full of fake mockery.

"Of course you did," Lily told him, although her face deceived her words. Her smile had grown larger, as if trying not to laugh.

"I did, I was just trying to make you feel better about yourself."

"No you didn't, you liar," Lily teased.

"Okay, whatever, you believe what you want to believe," James kidded.

"Okay, I will," she told him.

"Okay," he simply replied.

As James started to walk again, he felt Lily's hand slip out of his grasp. "Lils, what are you doing?"

"Just tying my shoe lace," she replied. And luckily, her face was hidden from James' view, or else he would have seen a huge grin on her face.

Suddenly, James felt something cold on his cheek. He looked over at Lily, and found that she was laughing hysterically. His hand flew to his cheek, where a snowball had hit him. Without warning, James reached down, grabbed a pile of snow, and launched it at Lily.

As soon as Lily felt the wetness reach her rosy cheek, the smile left her face. "What the hell was that for?"

"You hit me, I hit you," he told her, and suppressed a chuckle.

"You, oh my God," Lily began, but was cut off by another snowball hitting her in the arm.

"Okay, mister, you asked for it," Lily screamed. She ran toward him, and shoved him into the snow.

It really was a quite odd looking scene, there were two seventeen year olds, lying in the snow. James' back was laid flat against the fluffy snow, and James had pulled Lily down with him, so she was on top of him.

James' eyes were sparkling, looking up at Lily's laughing face. She truly looked happy. In fact, James hadn't seen Lily have this much fun since the night at his house, when the couple was playing and splashing in the pond.

All of a sudden, James had rolled over, forcing Lily underneath him. He grabbed some snow, and then gently threw it into her hair.

This made Lily's laughs even stronger, as she tried furiously to get away from him. She pushed at his muscular arms, knowing that she was too weak from laughing to move him. So, instead she closed her fists around some snow, and tossed it into his face.

"Is that how you want to play?" James asked jokingly.

Lily only laughed, and then threw some more snow into his chest. James laughed too, and proceeded to bury her with snow.

They went on like this for some time, James sitting straddled over Lily, while Lily rested in the snow. They were laughing and tossing snow in every direction, most of the time missing their targets.

Once the couple was too exhausted from laughing, James rolled off if his girlfriend, lying next to her in the snow. They were like that for some time, taking in their surroundings, enjoying the peacefulness of each other's company.

---

James walked into his dormitory, soaking wet from the snowball fight with Lily. All he wanted was to go take a nice, hot shower. Instead, he found Sirius, Remus, and Peter sitting on the beds, discussing what seemed like an important issue.

"Where've you been?" Remus asked, slightly laughing at James' attire.

"Had a snowball fight with Lily," he answered.

"Who won?" Peter asked.

"I did, of course," James replied, a grin on his face. And then he asked, "What are you guys doing?"

"Just trying to think of a way to get Zoë back," Sirius told him, he had a murderous look in his eye.

"What'd she do?" James asked, curiosity overwhelming his desire for a shower.

"I'll tell you what she did," Sirius responded, a bitter tone in his voice. "She thought she could embarrass me in front of those two blondes from Hufflepuff, you know, the slutty ones that stalk me."

"Yeah," James replied, not sure where the story was heading from there.

"Yeah, I swear, I was going to get something tonight, before she ruined it. She went and told them that I was a fucking gay!"

"Sirius, I'm sure they didn't believe it," James assured his friend.

"Yeah, well, they sure weren't interested in doing anything other than talk about fucking clothes with me for the rest of the fucking day," Sirius shouted.

"Padfoot, really, it's just a bunch of slutty girls who are as dumb as rocks," Remus reasoned.

"I don't care, I was going to get some tonight," Sirius growled.

"Padfoot, Moony's right, who cares what they think," James told his friend.

"I care, and I'm going to get that bitch back if it's the last thing I do," Sirius told the Marauders.

"And how, pray tell, are you going to do that?" Remus asked.

Sirius's face lit up with joy after a few moments. "Guys, what is the one thing that Zoë is self-conscious about?"

"Um, her body," Peter answered.

"That's right, Wormtail… So, if I can just get into her room, steal her bra and panties, and then show them to the whole school, she'll be humiliated," Sirius announced. He looked absolutely thrilled at his immature idea.

"Padfoot, not to crush your plans, but how the hell are you planning on getting into her room?" Remus asked.

"Fuck. I forgot about that," Sirius replied grumpily.

"What about the invisibility cloak?" Peter suggested.

"No, we tried that in fifth year," James told his friend.

"Really? When was that?" Peter asked.

"When Prongs was trying to steal Lily's diary," Remus answered, shooting disapproving glares at James.

"What? I needed to know if she really liked me or not," James said, trying to defend himself.

"Okay, as much a lovely story that was, can we get back to my problem now?" Sirius snapped.

"Right, Padfoot, I don't think there's anything you can do," Remus told him.

Sirius's eyes brightened up again, obviously he had an idea. "I have got to be the smartest man alive!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" James asked.

"I've got it! I can't believe I didn't think of it before," he cried out.

"Well, what is it?" Peter asked, he was eager to hear the plan.

"Well, _people_ can't go up there, but animals can," Sirius told the group. He then walked over toward Peter, and placed a hand on his shoulder, "And, Wormtail, the perfect animal to go up there is one so small, like a rat."

"You mean, _me_?" Peter asked, his eyes full of alarm.

"Sure do," Sirius replied with a smile.

"Oh God," Peter muttered before turning into a rat.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Okay, first of all, I have nothing against gay people (Because I had Sirius say 'she said I was a fucking gay,') Sirius was just really mad about that, and I always imagined him as a bit homophobic, I'm not though, so don't get mad (I've got friends that are gay.) Secondly, I hope you liked it, and please review!


	22. Caught

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to catgirl002, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, gatoriris, SevenPeach, and MissMrprk for reviewing! It means soooooo much to me! I love you all!

catgirl002: The 'e' with the dots on it bothers me sometimes too. But that's how Zoë is supposed to be spelled, and my Word Program automatically marks Zoe wrong, and Zoë right. But it can actually be a real pain in the ass to write it that way! (Okay, I'm really hoping that this is what you were talking about so that I'm not making a fool out of myself, but whatever.)

* * *

Lily walked up to her dorm room to find that her friends were no where in sight. So, she took a quick shower, got dressed and went back to her room.

Lily was resting on her bed, thinking about James. Lately, it seemed that he was the only thing on her mind. Half of the time she couldn't even concentrate on her homework because of him. She was just a lovesick girl around him, and she hadn't remembered a time when she had been happier.

Lily was just about to rest her eyes when she heard Macie, her cat, jump off Scarlett's bed. Lily looked down at the ground and saw what she was going after; there was a small, brown rat on the floor.

"Macie, stop it! Come here right now," Lily demanded.

Macie ignored her calls though, and was creeping toward the rat, which didn't seem to notice her yet.

"Macie! That thing could be someone's pet, or it could be diseased or something!" Lily told the cat.

But still, the cat ignored her. Its smooth white fur could be seen slinking on the red carpeted floor, toward her destination.

Lily was just about to scoop up Macie, when she pounced. She was on the rat in a flash, and the rat hadn't seen it coming. The cat held the little brown rat in her paws, waiting for the perfect moment to strike with her sharp teeth.

Suddenly, the rat was no longer there! Instead Peter Pettigrew stood in its place, the cat still holding his torso with her claws.

Lily looked at him with horror, and then let out a giant scream.

Peter shrugged Macie off of his shirt, and then begged, "Lily, please, don't scream, please don't."

"Oh my God! What the hell is happening?" She yelled.

"Shhh, no need to yell," Peter told her, a desperate look on his face.

"You, you're an anmigus!" Lily stated.

"Well, yes, but you can't tell anyone," Peter begged.

Lily's hands flew up to her face as she really took in the situation; her cat almost ate Peter Pettigrew, one of her boyfriend's best friends. And then another thought came into her mind, Peter wouldn't come up her for no reason in particular. And he would probably only come up to her dorm if someone sent him, only if one of his best friends sent him.

Lily suddenly lashed out, and grabbed Peter's ear in her hand.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, Lily please stop," Peter begged.

She gave him a sharp glare, and pulled him out of her room, down to the common room, and up the stairs to the Marauder's dorm.

She burst open the door, and James was surprised to see how furious she looked.

Lily suddenly let go of Peter's ear, and pushed him aside. "James, what the fuck is going on?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"Why was Pettigrew in my room?" she screeched, now sending glares to all four boys.

"Wormtail, she caught you?" Sirius hissed.

"That monster of cat she's got tried to eat me!" Peter exclaimed.

"Shut up, both of you," Lily snapped. And then she rounded in on James, "Did you know that _he _is an illegal anmigus?" Lily asked, pointing her finger at Peter as she talked.

"Um, um, well, yes," James told her.

"Oh God! I should have known," Lily exclaimed, suddenly realizing something. "Wormtail, that's Peter's nickname, and he's a rat… And you, James, Prongs, what could that possibly stand for?"

"A stag," he whispered.

"A stag! Goddamn it!" Lily shrieked. "And Black, his nickname is Padfoot, so what are you? A cat, a dog?"

"A dog," he answered, looking somewhat ashamed of himself.

"And Remus, you are Moony, what the bloody hell does that stand for?" Lily questioned.

"Lils, that's not of your business," James said, not wanting to force his friend to tell him most cautious secret.

"No, James, its okay… Lily, when I was a child, I was bitten," Remus began.

"Bitten? What the hell does that have to do with anything?" she asked.

"Everything, now shut up while I tell you… I was bitten by a werewolf, and now, every full moon, I turn into one…"

"Oh God, Remus, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you," Lily told him, her voice now sounding sweet, as if her outrage at James had never happened.

"It's okay," he responded, surprised that she hadn't been scared to be in the same room as him. "And, Dumbledore made special accommodations, so that I could attend school here… I used to make up excuses that I needed to go home every month, but after a while, James, Sirius, and Peter figured it out. They figured out about the monster that I become every month… So, they decided to become anmigai for me, to keep me company while I transformed."

"Oh my God, I can't believe it," Lily whispered.

"Yeah, in fifth year, they managed it," Remus confided.

Lily didn't know what to say, it was all occurring too fast for her to handle. But eventually said, "So, you three are all illegal Animagi, and you did it so Remus wouldn't be alone on full moons."

"Yeah, that's about it," James answered. He was now thinking that Lily wouldn't possible be upset with him for not telling her. After all, he had done it in kindness for a very good friend.

Unfortunately for James, he couldn't be more wrong.

Then Lily turned on him, "You stupid, stupid, ass of a man! You could have gotten hurt! Do you know how risky it is to become an Animagi?" Each time she said 'stupid' or 'ass' she slapped James across the back of the head.

"Ouch, Lily, stop… And we didn't get messed up, we're all fine," James told her.

"You still are the stupidest person I've ever met, running around with a werewolf, no offense Remus, all three of you could get hurt, or what if you got bit, no offense Remus. I mean, you could have killed yourselves!" Lily shouted.

"But, Lils, we're fine," James reasoned.

"Oh, and don't get me started with you James Potter. You told me no more secrets and no more lies," Lily yelled.

"I know, baby, I'm sorry, I really am," James told her.

"Oh, don't you 'baby' me. And don't give me crap that you're sorry, because if you were really sorry than you wouldn't have lied to me in the first place!" Lily exclaimed. And with that said she turned on her heel and walked out of the dorm.

---

Once Lily had reached her room, she collapsed back down onto her bed. 'He lied to me, I can't believe he lied to me,' she silently told herself. And then another thought entered her mind, 'What else could he have lied to me about?' She let light tears run down her cheeks, she felt betrayed by James, as if he didn't trust her enough to keep the Marauder's secrets.

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"I screwed up big time, didn't I?" James told his friends. He sat on his bed, wishing this whole ordeal had never happened, wishing Lily hadn't reacted the way she did.

"Yeah, Prongs, I'd say 'screwed up big time' is an understatement," Sirius told his friend.

"Shit," was all James could manage to say.

"James, don't worry too much about it, just give her time to cool down," Remus suggested.

"Yeah, Moony's right, she probably just needs time to process what she heard. I mean, it isn't everyday that you learn your boyfriend can turn into a stag," Peter chipped in.

"Yeah, you guys are right, she just needs time to think," James replied, and then said, "I'm going to take a shower."

Once the remaining boys heard the water turn on, Sirius said, "Do you think she's going to tell anyone?"

Remus and Peter looked at Sirius, fright present in their eyes. And then Remus said, "I don't think so, I mean, she wouldn't tell anyone, she's too nice to tell anyone."

"Yeah," Peter agreed.

Then they all looked at each other once more, and as if reading each other's minds, they all bolted for the door.

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**Author's Note 2:** Hey everyone, I hope you all liked this chapter! Sorry I had to make Peter say something intelligent, but I want my story to be realistic, and the Marauders wouldn't be friends with him if he didn't have any common sense. Also, I'm going away on vacation to Washington D.C for about a week. So, I won't be able to update for a while, but I promise when I get back I'll be back on my regular updating schedule! Anyways, please review!


	23. Still Mad

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to allie, floro13, trashcan522, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, SevenPeach, and MonkeyGurl1 for reviewing! It means the world to me!

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The next morning, Lily woke up still feeling betrayed. She hated that James hadn't trusted her enough with the Marauder's secret. But she was mostly upset because she didn't know what else he could have been hiding from her. First the Animagi thing, and who knew what it could be next!

Lily wanted to go for a run outside badly; she wanted to clear her mind from James Potter. But she couldn't do that, during the night a storm had emerged. It had completely flooded the pathways with snow, which made it impossible for anyone to set foot outside until it was cleared.

Instead, Lily had to settle for the warmth of a steamy shower. She entered the bathroom, and cranked the water onto hot. As she stepped into the shower, she could feel the steam invade her lungs. It truly felt like a sauna in there, with the exception of water running down her body.

After about ten minutes, Lily could feel tears burning behind her eyes. And because no one could see or hear her, she let them fall from her eyes, and mix in with the steamy shower water.

This time though, she wasn't crying because of the hurt that she had felt from feeling betrayed. Instead, she was crying because of everything that could have gone wrong during James' triumph of becoming an animagus. If something had ever happened to him, she would have been devastated. Well, back in fifth year she wouldn't have been, but now she needed him in her life. Or if Remus had accidentally attacked James, and James was to die, Lily didn't know if she could handle that. She didn't know if she could handle losing him.

And this made her angry; she loved him, but the risks that he took, that brought this pain to her, made her furious. Lily just knew that one of these days, something would go wrong, and she would end up hating, yet loving James for that. She would hate him for leaving her, and for scaring her. But on the other hand, she loved him for just being himself.

Everything about James seemed to be confusing her so much now. In a way, she wished that she had never found out about the Marauder's secret. She wished that she was still oblivious of their escapades every full moon. Life would be a lot simpler for her that way.

On the other hand though, she felt that she deserved to know the truth a long time ago. She felt excluded form her boyfriend's life. And if she had never known about it, and went on thinking that he led a safe life, she may not love as much as she did.

Lily wasn't able to complete her thoughts though, because she heard the door to the bathroom open. One of her friends must have woken up, and decided to take a shower as well. Lily heard the other shower start up, and then a door close behind it.

Lily sighed, and decided she had better exit her comfort of the steam.

---

James was sitting in the Great Hall that day, eating breakfast with Sirius, Remus, Peter, Scarlett, and Gracie. He didn't really feel like eating anything, he felt miserable. He knew Lily was furious at him, and was going to come up to him any day now and dump him officially.

"James, is every thing okay?" Scarlett asked, a look of worry in her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he responded, although his voice told differently.

"Are you sure?" she asked. She looked truly concerned about him.

"Yeah… I mean, well, actually no. Lily's mad at me," he told her.

"What happened?" Scarlett asked.

She and James were really just having the conversation by themselves. Everyone else was busy complaining about the detention that Professor Rander had given them. Of course, they did have every right to complain, because it was an unreasonable punishment. Gracie and Marissa were talking during class, which led to them getting points off. This wouldn't have been too bad if the two Slytherians that had also been talking hadn't gotten off without a punishment. So, Sirius had accused Rander of being prejudice to the Gryffindors, which landed the entire seventh year class in detention.

"I don't want to talk about it," James responded.

"James, you can trust me," Scarlett assured him, while giving him a light squeeze of reassurance on his arm.

"I know, it's just that we had an argument," James told her, completely ignoring his last comment.

"About what?"

"I told her 'no more secrets' which I really regretted afterward," James admitted.

"Oh… I won't pry at what the secret is, but if I were you, I'd try and say hi, but don't try and kiss her or anything. She's probably upset right now, so just give her some time to cool off," Scarlett advised.

"Yeah, that's what plenty of people have bee telling me."

"And, if you want, I'll try and talk to her," Scarlett offered.

"Thanks."

Just then, Lily had entered the Great Hall. She searched for a familiar face, and saw her best friends sitting with the Marauders. She didn't want to deal with James right now; she just wanted to eat her breakfast in peace.

"Morning Lily," James told her as she walked by him.

She turned around to face him and said, "Hello."

James smiled, thinking that maybe she wasn't too angry after all. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second?"

Lily eyed James for just a moment before responding, "Alright."

They made their way over to the opposite end of the table, and all the way over there, Scarlett had shot disapproving looks at James. He wasn't listening to her advice.

When they sat down, James bent forward to kiss her softly on the cheek, but Lily pulled away.

"Listen, James, I may like you a lot, but that doesn't mean that I'm not mad at you right now."

"What?" James asked. He was truly confused. First he thought she would hate him, and then he thought she liked him, and now she had turned down a kiss. There was just no way to understand her.

"Just because I'm your girlfriend, that doesn't mean that I can't be as pissed as hell at you," Lily sternly responded.

"But…"

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got somewhere else to be," Lily told him as she walked away.

James felt his heart both leap with joy and sink with hurt. He was glad that Lily still considered him as her boyfriend, but he wanted her to be with him at that moment. He didn't want her to be upset with him.

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**Author's Note 2:** Okay, hey everyone! Sorry this one is a little short, but I felt awful about not posting for almost an entire week! So here one is, and I promise the next chapter will be out soon! And for all of you who did want to see Sirius prank Zoë in that last chapter, I promise that there will be actual pranking done in later chapters! Anyways, please review!


	24. The Letter

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note: **Thanks toRawBean, cilverblood, Jessie xxx, SevenPeach, Shuichi66, Starlight-Heart, and MissMrprk for reviewing! I love to hear all of your opinions!

cilverblood: Peter Pettigrew Hate Listing! Haha, I love it. That's simply hilarious! I am glad though, that you do understand that Peter has to be in the story and in the Potter's lives. Although, I do hate the little bastard too!****

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"James, why don't you listen to me?" Scarlett asked. James had come back to the table after watching Lily leave the Great Hall.

"I did listen to you," James responded.

"No, you didn't. If you had listened to me, then you never would have gotten up from this table," Scarlett told him.

"But, but, we didn't break up," James told her brightly.

"Yeah, but you're not exactly snogging in the broom closet either," Scarlett replied.

"I know that she doesn't hate me though, and that she's not going to break up with me," James said with a smile.

"You idiot, I could have told you that," Scarlett said with a smile.

"Then why didn't you?" he asked.

"I did, I said just give her time."

"That's not the same as 'she won't break up with you.'" James retorted.

"Whatever," Scarlett responded while rolling her eyes.

"Well, I'm off to class. I'll see you later," James said as he left the table. He knew that class didn't start for another fifteen minutes, but he wanted to see Lily again. He was just so glad that she wasn't about to break up him, that he didn't bother with Scarlett's suggestion of leaving Lily alone.

And James knew exactly where he would find Lily, in the kitchens. Ever since James had shown her where and how to get into the kitchens, Lily never went hungry. She could now easily miss breakfast, and go to the kitchens where the elves would fix her up a bite. And, she obviously hadn't eaten anything that morning, so James assumed where she would be.

Once James reached the kitchens, he said the password, and entered the small opening behind the statue of Melinda the Magnificent.

He saw his girlfriend as soon as he entered the gigantic kitchen. She was leaning against the wall with a half-eaten chocolate croissant in her hand.

"Hello, Lils, fancy seeing you here," James said cheerfully.

"James, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Just came by to grab a bite to eat," he replied innocently.

"I just saw you at the Great hall stuffing your face," she told him coldly.

"Hmm, well, I got hungry again," he responded with a smile.

"Okay, I'm leaving."

As she walked past him, James reached his hand out a placed it on her arm. "Wait, Lils."

"Let go of me," Lily sternly said.

"I want to talk to you."

"Well, I don't want to talk to you," she replied angrily.

"Lily."

"James, we already talked today."

"No, we didn't… Lily," James said softly.

"James Potter, if you don't let go of me right now, I swear, I'll…"

Lily never finished her sentence though, because James quickly cut her off by kissing her lips tenderly. His tongue traced the outline of her lips, asking for entrance. James was relieved when he felt Lily kiss him back, spreading her lips apart for him.

They stayed that way for a few minutes, kissing each other in the kitchens, unaware of the house elves that surrounded them.

It wasn't until Lily heard one of the elves clearing his throat that she noticed what she was doing. Lily quickly broke her lips away from James, and pushed his arms off of her.

"Lils?" James said as she hurried out of the kitchen. He quickly followed her, wondering what was going on.

"James, stop it," Lily said when she heard that his footsteps were no more than a foot behind her.

"Lily," he said as he grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving again.

"James, I'm not kidding, leave me alone."

Now James was truly confused. They had just shared a passionate kiss, yet Lily didn't want anything to do with him right now. 'Why is she so confusing?' James silently asked himself.

"James, get your fucking hand off of me right now," Lily sternly told him.

"Lily, what the bloody hell is going on? You just kissed me, and now you don't want anything to do with me!" James exclaimed.

"That's not true. I just don't want to talk to you right now," Lily yelled in frustration. She just wanted James to go away, she still needed time to think.

"For someone who doesn't want to talk to me, that was a pretty damn intense kiss," James hollered back.

"Oh my God, you can be such a prat sometimes," Lily angrily told him.

"I am not a prat," James responded.

"Yes, yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"What have I done that's so prat like?" James asked, his eyes fierce with anger. He was getting frustrated with Lily now. She just wouldn't be straight with him, never telling him what he wanted to know.

"Like trying to kiss me, even though I'm pissed at you," Lily told him. The irritation in her voice was loud and clear, and it matched perfectly with her face expression.

"Oh, so kissing you makes me a prat?" James asked, his face expression and voice matching Lily's.

"When I'm bloody pissed off at you, it certainly does," Lily scolded.

"No, it doesn't. Besides, you kissed me back," James retorted.

"Exactly my point. You can't just go kissing me to make everything all better," Lily exclaimed.

James couldn't see what she meant by 'exactly my point,' but was too peeved to hassle her about it. Instead he said, "I didn't kiss you just to make everything all better."

"Then you can't kiss me when we're fighting, God damn it!" Lily yelled in aggravation.

"You're not making any bloody sense!" James told her.

"When you kiss me, I can't stay mad at you, you dimwit! So stop trying to kiss me, because I'm bloody mad at you," Lily exclaimed.

James didn't think that Lily was making any sense at all now. He was so confused at what she was saying.

"Now, I'm going back to my dorm, and don't you dare get one of your friends to go up there," Lily sternly told him.

"Fine," was all he said.

When Lily went back to her room, she was bewildered. But more than that she was angry. She was mad that James hadn't tried to follow her, hadn't tried once more to get her to forgive him. She knew that she told him not to, but what kind of a boyfriend didn't know when 'leave me alone' meant 'keep trying a few more times, because I need to yell at you a few more times.'

Lily sat on her bed, stroking her cat's silky white fur, and she said, "Macie, what if I really just screwed things up?"

Her cat just looked up at her with her bright, yellow eyes.

Lily suddenly felt all alone. She needed to talk to someone, anyone really. She just needed someone to listen to her. But no one was around, all her friends were at class, where she was supposed to be.

Lily didn't go to any of her classes that day. Instead she took out parchment and a quill. She had decided to write James a letter. She would tell him exactly how she felt, and she knew that he would understand.

_Dear James,_

_I'm sorry about how I acted._

Lily looked at it and shook her head. She couldn't start the letter like that, it sounded pathetic. So, she crumpled it up, and threw it in the trash can.

In fact, before her letter was finally completed, Lily's trash can was overflowing with crumpled pieces of paper; each one saying nearly the same thing, and each one sounding pathetic.

James was in the common room that afternoon. His last class of the day, Herbology, had been canceled due to the snow ruining the plants. So, he sat in the common room, watching Remus and Peter play a game of wizards chess.

Just as Remus was about to capture Peter's bishop, an owl flew in the window. It was a beautiful, snowy white owl. James knew that he had seen her before, but couldn't place his mind on where it had been. But once he took the letter, he realized exactly who had sent it.

_Dear James,_

_I've been in my dorm room all day, and all I've been able to think about is you. I keep telling myself that you lied to me, you lied to me after you said 'no more secrets.' I don't know if I could handle feeling that like that again. I don't know if I could handle the fact that you didn't trust me enough with your secret. _

_When I first found out, I was so angry with you. I felt like I had been stabbed in the back by my best friend, the one person who I felt I could trust. When I first found out, I wanted to turn you in. I wanted to tell Dumbledore all about your little escapades. I wanted you to be in so much trouble, that you would be kicked out of school. It was selfish of me to feel that way, but I'll admit, a little revenge never hurt anyone. Thankfully, I realized that revenge isn't always the best way to handle things. So, I did not tell anyone your secret, you can still trust me. _

_After that initial feeling, a new one came to me; fear. I was afraid for you, James. I was scared about what would happen to you. I didn't want you to get hurt, or worse, die. Those thoughts stayed with me all last night, and throughout today. If anything were ever to happen to you, I don't know what I would do. I would be a complete wreck, unable to be myself. _

_I was selfish, I realize that now. I was so concerned about what would happen to us if anything ever happened to you, that I forgot about why you did it in the first place. It's very brave, which I had forgotten was one of the reasons that I like you as much as I do. But more than that, you are being a terrific friend to Remus, who really does need the help and support of his friends. I should have realized that earlier, and I am truly sorry for blowing up in your face._

_And now, today, well, I don't know what to say. I wish that I could go back in time and erase this morning. I acted terrible to you, and you didn't deserve it. I guess that I was just so scared for you, and I felt so betrayed that I didn't know how to handle myself. I kept on pushing you away, but you kept on coming back to me. When you didn't leave me alone, I was so angry. I just didn't want you near me at the moment, I didn't want you to influence my feelings with your presence. Which really was very stupid of me, because once you finally let me leave, I wanted to talk. But that is beside the point, because I cannot change how I reacted today. _

_After thinking this over, I came to realize something else as well. I can't say it in a letter, but you need to know this. So, if you would please meet me in the common room at midnight, I would really appreciate it. _

_Yours truly,_

_Lily _

_

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**Author's Note 2: **Hey everyone! Okay, here's chapter 24! I hope you all like it, and please review!


	25. Three Little Words

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note: **Thanks to lOvEiNhEaVeN, cilverblood, acatm, MissMrprk, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, sblomie, SevenPeach, RawBean, Jessie xxx, strawberryshortcake23, miss-mags-ak, little-angel123452000, and Jutey for reviewing! Wow, I think that's the most reviews for this story that I've ever gotten!

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James read the letter over and over again. He was trying to figure out what she needed to tell him. James figured that Remus could easily tell him what he wanted to know, but for some reason, James didn't feel that this was any of the Marauders business. This letter from Lily was addressed specifically to him, and he didn't want anyone else to read it.

He sat on his bed, and listened as the clocked 'ticked' as every second past. It was driving him crazy, he just wanted it to be midnight. But the ticking noise was always there to remind him that there was still 30 minutes left.

James tried to focus on something else, anything else. He even tried doing some of his potions essay. But nothing worked. He was too anxious for the clock to read 12:00 a.m. He wanted to know what was going to happen, he wanted to know what was so important that it couldn't be said in a letter.

James searched his mind for possibilities. It could be that she wanted to talk more about Remus being a werewolf, or James becoming an Animagus. Those were too risky to say directly in a letter, after all, if someone else had read that letter, the Marauders would be in big trouble. But James didn't think that it was that. Lily wouldn't ask him to meet her over something like that.

His mind suddenly went to the worst case scenario. 'What if Lily decides to dump me?' he thought to himself. After all, it would make perfect sense. In the letter, she never actually said that she had gotten over the lying. She had said 'I don't know if I could handle feeling that like that again.' That could possibly mean that she wanted to dump him.

"Shit," James whispered. He just knew it, that was exactly what Lily was going to do. She was going to break off the best thing that had ever happened to him.

Or, maybe that wasn't going to happen at all. After all, Lily had just apologized for being harsh toward him. 'But what does she need to talk to me about?' James wondered.

Curiosity was truly getting the better of him. He was just like an anxious seven year old on Christmas Eve.

Luckily, James didn't have to wait any longer. It was two minutes until midnight, and James was heading down the stairs toward the common room.

When he got down there, he saw Lily sitting by the fire, her red hair glowing from its light. Her skin looked illuminated against the darkness of the room, only the fire to shed light.

"Lily," he slowly said as he walked over to her.

James saw her eyes light up when she saw him. Her green eyes were sparkling, and James couldn't help but think that they looked somewhat mysterious.

"You read it," Lily stated.

"Yes," he responded.

Lily didn't say anything after that. She just gazed into the fireplace.

James took this opportunity to get a good look at her. She was wearing her nightgown, with a light pink robe over it. He could see the silver necklace that she wore around her neck. It was a simple, delicate chain, with a small 'L' attached to it. She wore it everyday, but James had never really noticed it until now. It was simple, yet elegant, just like it's owner.

"James," Lily began, her eyes finally leaving the comfort of the fireplace to meet his hazel eyes.

"Yes," he said, assuring her that he was ready whenever she was.

"I meant every word of that letter," she told him.

"I know you did," he answered.

"It was hard for me to do it. I like to handle everything on my own, I don't like it when I depend too much on other people," Lily admitted.

James was at a loss for words. It wasn't that what she had said stunned him, but he just didn't know what to say next.

"James, please don't go out on full moons anymore," Lily said.

"What?"

"Please, I mean, I know you're doing it for Remus, but please don't," Lily begged. Her eyes showed that she was sincere.

"Lily, I have to, and I want to," he responded.

"James, you can't go anymore, please don't," she pleaded.

"Lily, you're not going to change my mind," he responded.

"But, I fell asleep for a little while this afternoon, and I had a horrible dream again. But this time You-know-who was murdering you in your stag form. It was awful, and there was nothing I could do to save you," Lily told him, her eyes becoming a little puffy.

"Lily, that was just a dream. You-know-who is not coming after me, especially not in my Animagus form," James told her.

"But it was so realistic," she said.

"You said that about your other dreams too," he commented.

"God, you're right… but still, please don't go out anymore," Lily begged.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't. And you can't say that you're afraid I'll get hurt, because that's a chance that I'm willing to take," said James.

"Because, because, I love you."

James could feel his entire body tense up when he heard those words. 'Maybe I was hearing things,' he silently suggested to himself.

"What?" James asked.

"I, I love you," she repeated, this time a little bit stronger.

"You do?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"James Potter, I love you," she told him with a smile.

James smiled as he walked over to the chair that she was sitting in. He pulled her into his strong arms, holding her tightly. They stayed that way for a few moments, but then made their way back to a chair. And was sitting in James' lap, looking down at the hand that clasped onto her own hand.

They didn't say anything to each other for a while, just sat there in the silence. Lily's head was resting against James' shoulder, and she could feel her eyes becoming heavy.

"Are you still going to go out on the full moons?" Lily asked him softly. Her eyes were barely open, but she was listening.

"Yes," he whispered.

Lily didn't say anything after that. She didn't like his response, but there was nothing she could do about it.

About ten minutes later, James felt Lily's hands loosen their grip. And her breathing became quieter. 'She must be sleeping,' James silently told himself.

He stared at her for a moment, taking in the deep red hair that fell to her back. Her skin looking like porcelain, delicate and beautiful. He smiled at her, thinking how much he cared about the girl resting in his arms.

"I love you, Lily Evans," he whispered before placing a kiss on the top of her head.

And James didn't know it, but the girl in his lap was smiling. She was smiling at his words, thankful for those three little words.

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**Author's Note 2:** Okay everyone, I hope you guys all like chapter 25! And I am so happy! I put the entire story in one word document, and it's about 90 pages! (Not including the author's notes and disclaimers and stuff like that!) Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please review! 


	26. A Rude Awakening

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note: **Thanks to lOvEiNhEaVeN, Shuichi66, MissMrprk, little-angel123452000, Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot, Flame Of Desire, sblomie, Cellogirl, milkywaypnay37, anonymous, Jessie xxx, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, and bitter.sweet.31 for reviewing! I just love hearing what you all think, it seriously makes my day!

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"Okay, class is in half an hour, and Prongs still isn't awake yet," Peter stated.

"I know… So who would like to do the honors?" Remus asked.

"I'll do it," Sirius said with a smirk.

He grabbed his wand and conjured an ice cold bucket of water. He quickly opened the hangings surrounding James' bed and threw in the water.

In an instant the three boys heard screaming. However, it was not what they had expected at all. Not only was there the yell that belonged to James, which was currently cursing them to Hell, but there was a very feminine scream as well.

And that scream belonged to none other than Lily Evans.

"Lily, what are you doing here?" Sirius asked.

"I was just leaving," she said quickly while jumping out of James' bed. And it was quite a sight because her hair was dripping with water, and her pajamas were clinging to her body from the water that had just been poured.

"Prongs, what was Lily doing here?" Remus asked, raising his eyes brows as he spoke.

"We didn't do anything for God's sake," James exclaimed. He wanted nothing more than to jump into the shower, and warm up, but he knew that the Marauders weren't going to let him off that easily.

"Then what was she in here for?" Peter asked.

"She fell asleep in the common room, I wasn't about to leave her down there," James quickly told the group.

"Then why didn't she look surprised to be here, in our room?" Sirius asked.

James was ready to kill Sirius for saying that. Now he couldn't just say the basics of what happened, he'd have to tell them the whole thing. 'Damn him for actually being smart,' James thought to himself.

"Can I go take my bloody shower now, or do I have to answer all your questions while I'm soaking wet?" James asked.

"Go ahead, Prongs… We'll be waiting for when you come out," Remus said with a smile. It was just so much fun to tease James about Lily Evans. It always had been, and it always would be.

…

"So, where've you been?" Gracie asked as Lily came into her dorm room.

"I've been, no where," Lily responded.

"Really? Then why did we hear a scream come from the guy's dormitories?" Marissa asked with a smile.

"That's none of your bloody business," Lily snapped.

"I don't think so," Gracie replied.

"Can I just take my shower?"

"Go ahead, but we'll be waiting," Marissa replied.

…

"Okay Romeo, why did you have a girl in our room?" Sirius asked as soon as James came out of the shower.

"I told you," he muttered.

"You didn't say the whole thing though," Sirius pointed out.

"She fell asleep, I took her here because I can't go to the girl's dormitories," James answered.

"I said the whole thing," Sirius said.

"That is the whole thing," James answered, although he knew differently.

_Once Lily was asleep, James had decided that if they were to spend the night down here, together, it would not do very well with Lily's reputation. So, he decided to take her up to his room, as he couldn't get into the girls dorms. _

_He gently lifted his sleeping beauty into his arms, holding her tight to his body. James walked toward the stairs, smiling down at his love. She looked so peaceful when she was sleeping._

_When he reached the room, he quietly turned the handle and opened the door. He slid Lily into his bed, trying his hardest not to wake her up. He then went into the bed himself, and wrapped an arm around his girlfriend._

_However, doing this, woke Lily up. She couldn't see anything because the room was pitch black, but she knew it was James. She could tell by the cologne. He wore the same cologne every day, never too much, never too little. And Lily adored that scent._

_"James," Lily whispered._

_"Lils, did I wake you?" he asked._

_"No, I woke on my own," she assured him. And then asked, "Where are we?"_

_"In my room… You fell asleep, and I can't go into your room," was the response. _

_"Alright," she said as she snuggled closer to him. _

_James smiled as he felt Lily's hand rest against his chest. It reminded him of Christmas break, and how Lily spent the night with him because of a nightmare. That was one of his favorites memories of Lily. He loved the feeling of sleeping next to her, holding her tight in his arms, and not ever wanting to release her. He loved how it seemed that he was protecting her, and that she needed him. _

_"I heard what you said," Lily mumbled softly._

_"What did I say?" he asked leisurely while running a hand through her silky red hair. _

_"You said you loved me," she whispered._

_"Yeah, and I do… I love you," he told her. Although he was silently wondering how she had heard him._

_"I'm glad, because I love you to," Lily said right before drifting back to sleep._

…

When James reached the Great Hall that morning, everyone was buzzing about the Valentine's Ball. James couldn't believe that he had forgotten about it, after all, he was one of the first people to find out about it, being Head Boy and all.

"So, James, have you asked Lily to the Ball yet?" Scarlett asked as James took a seat across from her.

"Not yet," he responded.

"Well, you had better do it soon," Scarlett commented.

"Why?"

"Because, someone else may ask her," Scarlett responded.

"But she's dating me, so why would she go with anyone else?" James questioned.

"Just because you're dating doesn't mean that you can automatically assume you're going with her," Scarlett told him.

"I'll ask her," James responded.

"Good, because she's already refused a few guys just for you," Scarlett added.

"What? Who asked her?" James asked, his eyes showing a murderous look in them.

"I don't remember who it was. And don't get all worried or anything, she said no to all three of them."

"THREE!" James exclaimed.

"Well, the whole school heard that she was pissed at you the other day, so naturally guys asked her to the Ball," Scarlett explained.

"But she said no," James stated.

"Yes, she said no," Scarlett assured him.

"Okay… did Travis ask you?" James asked after calming down a bit.

"Hell yeah, he asked me the day it was announced," Scarlett replied.

"What are you guys talking about?" Sirius asked as he lent in to their conversation, now ignoring the scolding Zoë.

"The Ball," Scarlett answered. "James hasn't asked Lily yet."

"I'm going to," he sternly said. Now he was just getting annoyed.

"Who are you going with?" Scarlett asked Sirius.

"Not sure yet. There are a couple of Hufflepuff girls who aren't bad. But then there's a few Ravenclaws that have truly shaped up this year, and I can't forget about some of the Gryffindor girls either," Sirius replied.

The discussion went on until about two minutes before class started. And it turned out that only Scarlett, Peter, and Marissa had official dates so far. Everyone else was still looking.

…

Later that afternoon, once classes had let out, James found Lily walking by herself toward the library.

"Hey Lils," he said while running up to her.

"Hey," she responded with a smile.

"What are you up to?" he asked.

"Just going to finish that paper for Rander, you know, the one that's due tomorrow."

"Oh, well, I've got a question," James said.

"Yes."

"Do you want to go to the Ball with me?"

"I was wondering when you were finally going to ask me," Lily replied with a laugh.

"Is that a yes?" James asked.

"Sure is," she replied with a smile.

"Do you really have to do this assignment?" James asked, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Not at this very moment, if that's what you're asking," came the sly reply.

"What would say to blowing off that little assignment, and coming with me?" James asked as he pulled her in for a light kiss.

Lily smiled and grabbed his hand with her own.

James smiled her, and could see a devious twinkle in her emerald eyes.

After roaming the hallways for a few minutes, James pulled Lily into an empty classroom. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close, and then his lips were on hers.

Lily felt herself smile beneath James' kisses, she loved being with him. She loved it when they kissed, she loved being in James' arms, and she loved how much he excited her with his every move.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Okay, here's chapter 26! I hope that it wasn't too random, because I kind of got the feeling it was. And I'm sorry that it wasn't exactly my best chapter, but I hope it was alright. Anyways, please review!


	27. The Valentine's Ball

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling. And the song I use in this is "My Girl" and I'm actually not quite sure who the first to sing it was. And the other song is "I Wanna Love You Forever" by Jessica Simpson.

**Author's Note: **Thanks to Wala, MissMrprk, bitter.sweet.31, albus's bitch, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, angrypickle, Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot, allie, milkywaypnay37, and fUnKy MaGiCk for reviewing! I love you all to death! You guys are the greatest!

Wala: I'm glad you thought the last chapter was cute! But the reason it was called, "A Rude Awakening" is because of how Sirius woke the two of them up.

milkywaypnay37: Okay, first of all, I'm glad you like my story. And secondly, you asked which Marauder I would go out with. Well, the answer is none of them because, they aren't actually real, and I prefer the real deal. (just playing) But, anyways, if they were actually real, (and that's a big 'if',) and based on the personalities that have created for them, I wouldn't date any of them. Honestly, sometimes they are all a little mixture of my perfect guy (the romantic part definitely coming from James.) So, um, yeah, that's my answer.

* * *

"Where are they?" James asked as he glanced down at his watch.

"I'm sure they'll be here soon," Remus answered.

Both of them were waiting for their dates to the Valentine's Ball. James was waiting for Lily, and Remus was waiting for Zoë. Sirius and Peter each had dates with girls in other Houses, so they had gone off earlier to meet them.

A few minutes later, Zoë came down the staircase, and she truly looked beautiful. Her blonde hair was pulled back into an elegant bun (which was obviously done by Marissa,) which gave a gorgeous view of her features. Her dress was also quite charming as well. It was light pink, and fit tight to her hips.

"Wow, Zoë, you sure clean up well," Remus said once Zoë had reached them.

"Watch it Lupin, I've got heels and I know how to use them," she joked to her long time friend. And then she added, "James, Lily will be down in a few minutes. Marissa was hogging the bathroom, so Lily couldn't actually start getting ready for quite some time."

"Okay," he responded as he watched his two friends heading off to the Great Hall.

James looked down at his watch again, which only read two minutes from the last time he checked. He was getting impatient now. He simply hated having to wait for other people, even if it was Lily.

As if she had read his mind, Lily started to walk down the stairs at the very moment he looked up from his watch.

James was amazed when he saw her, and he thought his heart would stop from her beauty. Her dress was simple, yet elegant. It was black with a pink trim around the top and tracing its way at an angle down the middle of her dress. Lily looked incredible in it, her shoulders were bare. And her hair was pulled back into a messy looking bun, with a few pieces escaping to outline her face.

"Lily," James said once she was near him.

"Hello," she said with a smile.

"You look incredible," James told her.

"You don't look too bad yourself," she teased.

As the couple entered the Great Hall, James had a gigantic smile on his face. He knew that Lily would be the one to envy that night, and he was glad that he had won her heart. She was, in his opinion, the most beautiful woman in the world.

"Looks like Sirius finally decided on who to bring," Lily commented as she glanced over at him. Sirius was accompanied by a girl that Lily recognized as Madeline Harper. She was a tall blonde in Ravenclaw, and she looked thrilled to be on the arm of Sirius.

"Yeah, he owled her the other day to tell her," James told Lily.

"Are you serious?"

"Yup," James replied.

"And she accepted," Lily said, mostly to herself.

"Actually, she ditched some other guy for Sirius," James admitted.

"Some people," Lily said as she rolled her eyes.

"You would've done the same for me," James said with a smile.

"No I wouldn't have."

"Yes you would, you know you can't resist the Potter charm," James replied with a smirk.

Lily let out a small laugh and then said, "Yes, where is that charm? I think I've missed it tonight."

"Oh, is that so?" James asked.

"Indeed," she answered, knowing only too well that once James turned that charm on, she wouldn't be able to resist him.

"Well then, would you care to dance?" James asked as he held a hand out to her.

"I would be delighted."

Just as the couple made their way to the dance floor, a slow song came on. And Lily recognized it as one of her favorites.

_I've got sunshine on a cloudy day.  
__When it's cold outside  
__I've got the month of May. _

James looked into Lily's smiling face. Her eyes seemed to shimmer beneath the disco ball that was extended from the ceiling. He loved looking into Lily's eyes, he loved her green orbs; they were like magic. Always showing her emotions, which was nothing short of love right now.

_I guess you'd say  
__What can make me feel this way? _

Lily smiled as she felt James' hand tighten on her hip. She loved it when he held her close, she loved the feeling of never wanting to let go.

_My girl (my girl, my girl)  
__Talkin' 'bout my girl (my girl). _

James couldn't help but notice how perfect this song was. It seemed to illuminate his exact feelings toward Lily perfectly. Whenever she was around, he felt better. With just one kiss, he was lost to her.

_I've got so much honey the bees envy me.  
__I've got a sweeter song  
__than the birds in the trees. _

Lily smiled up at James. She noticed that he was staring at her, staring into her eyes. And oddly, she liked that. She liked it when James stared at her like that; it made her feel like they were the only ones in world.

_I guess you'd say  
__What can make me feel this way?  
__My girl (my girl, my girl)  
__Talkin' 'bout my girl (my girl). _

'My girl,' James thought, 'I like the sound of that. Lily Evans, my one and only girl.'

_Hey hey hey  
__Hey hey hey  
__Ooooh. _

_I don't need no money, fortune, or fame.  
__I've got all the riches baby  
__one man can claim. _

Lily couldn't help but think how that part related to her and James. It was true that James was probably one of the richest kids in school, but that didn't matter to Lily. If he were the poorest of the poor, she would always love him. Money didn't matter, she was happy just being near James. Just being close enough to hold him tight.

_I guess you'd say  
__What can make me feel this way?  
__My girl (my girl, my girl)  
__Talkin' 'bout my girl (my girl). _

After staring into Lily's eyes a little bit longer, James wiped is vision away, and lent forward to place a tender kiss on her lips. He felt Lily's body collapse a little beneath his touch, which only made him want to kiss her longer.

_I've got sunshine on a cloudy day  
__with my girl.  
__I've even got the month of May  
__with my girl_

Once the kiss and song had ended, James whispered, "I love you," into Lily's ear. Which made her smile and try and hide a slight blush.

After a few more dances together, James led Lily off to the side, towards their friends. And this, she was grateful for. With all the dancing being mostly fast now, she had needed time to cool down a bit.

"Don't you two just look adorable," Scarlett said with a smile as Lily and James came over to her and her date.

"Thanks," Lily said.

Scarlett smiled at them, seeing the love that Lily and James shared.

"I saw you guys too, and you don't look to bad yourselves," Lily commented.

"Yeah, but the real charmer out there is definitely Sirius," Scarlett replied as she pointed into the crowd.

Lily saw him dancing with a tiny brunette now, one that she didn't recognize. "Who's that?"

"Not sure, but that first girl. You know, the blonde from Ravenclaw, well, she's out in the bathroom crying her heart out."

"What?" Lily said with disbelief.

"Yeah, apparently she thought that Sirius was in love with her, the stupid dolt. So when she said that she loved him, he kind of laughed it off. And she got upset by that, and then Sirius kind of let her go and grabbed the next girl that walked by," Scarlett told her.

"Oh my God," Lily responded, her eyes wide with shock. She had known that Sirius was a player, and that he could have any girl he possibly wanted, but she had never thought that he would actually ditch a girl at a dance for another.

"Yeah, but that's what you get for saying that you're in love with Sirius Black," Scarlett said.

"Did somebody say me name?" came a voice from behind them, which belonged to none other than Sirius himself.

"Yeah, we were just talking about how you ditched a few girls," Scarlett commented.

"Hey, what can I say? Some girls can handle it, and others can't," Sirius told them with a laugh. "And now, if you don't mind James, Lily, you want to dance with someone who actually knows what he's doing?"

Lily smiled, knowing that James wouldn't mind a bit. Well, actually he would be watching them like a hawk, but since Sirius was his best friend, he didn't mind too much.

"I'd love to," Lily said with a smile.

By the time the night was almost over, it seemed that Lily hadn't gotten more than a moment to relax. James had pulled her to the dance floor numerous times, and Sirius, Remus, and Peter even danced with her a bit.

"Hey, Lils, do you want to go for a walk or something?" James asked.

"Sure, I think if I dance one more time with Sirius, I'll die," she responded.

James let out a laugh as he remembered watching his girlfriend and his best friend dance. And he could definitely understand what Lily had meant. Whenever Sirius had danced with her, it had been an upbeat song, and he had made Lily dance across the floor and back, not wanting to ever stay in the same spot once.

The couple had ended up walking out of the castle, along the path that surrounded the school.

And luckily for them, it was a beautiful night. The crisp February air filled their lungs, the sky was dark, but you could see a crescent shaped moon along with several bright stars, and the music from the dance inside could be heard.

Soon enough, they found an empty bench overlooking the lake. They settled down on it, and James slid an arm around Lily's bare shoulders. Lily's head was slightly resting on him, and she gazed up at the stars.

"Aren't they beautiful?" Lily said, it was more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah," he said softly.

After a few minutes, James noticed Lily was shivering slightly, and asked, "Do you want my jacket?"

"But then you'll get cold," Lily reasoned.

"No, I'm used to playing Quidditch in the freezing cold rain and wind, I'll be fine," he told her as he slid the jacket around her shoulders.

"Did you know that we've been going out for a little over four months now?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, it's weird to think that it's been that long," James commented.

"I know… I'm glad though," she answered.

"Me too."

They sat there for a few more moments, taking in the comfortableness of their relationship. Even in the moments of silence, they knew they were perfect for each other.

Suddenly, they could hear Dumbledore's voice from inside the Great Hall. It was microphoned so that the entire school could hear him, and he said, "Okay everyone, this will be the last song of the dance."

As the music began to play slowly, James took Lily's hand in his own and asked for this final dance. She accepted, and the two were once again in each other's arms, dancing under the moonlight.

_You set my soul at ease  
Chased darkness out of view  
Left your desperate spell on me  
Say you feel it too  
I know you do  
I've got so much more to give  
This can't die, I yearn to live  
Pour yourself all over me  
And I'll cherish every drop here on my knees  
  
_

Lily couldn't think of a better way to end the Valentine's Ball than to dance with the man she loved. And being under the stars just made it ten times more special.

_  
I wanna love you forever  
And this is all I'm asking of you  
10,000 lifetimes together  
Is that so much for you to do?  
Cuz from the moment that I saw your face  
And felt the fire in your sweet embrace  
I swear I knew.  
I'm gonna love you forever_

James glanced into Lily's adoring eyes, and saw pure love. James listened to the words of the song, and couldn't believe how true they seemed to be. From the moment he had set eyes on Lily, he had loved her. And that first time they had kissed, was one of the clearest memories he had. _  
  
My mind fails to understand  
What my heart tells me to do  
And I'd give up all I have just to be with you  
And that would do  
I've always been taught to win  
And I never thought I'd fall  
Be at the mercy of a man  
I've never been  
Now I only want to be right where you are._

James felt Lily's head rest gently against his shoulder, and he couldn't help but think that they fit perfectly together.  
  
_I wanna love you forever  
And this is all I'm asking of you  
10,000 lifetimes together  
Is that so much for you to do?  
Cuz from the moment that I saw your face  
And felt the fire in your sweet embrace  
I swear I knew.  
I'm gonna love you forever_

Lily smiled as her head rested up against James' shoulder. She could smell the cologne again, which made her happy. She loved it; it always seemed to be her comfort zone, just being close enough to James to smell that cologne. That way she knew he would never leave her.  
  
_In my life I've learned that Heaven never waits  
Let's take this now before it's gone like yesterday  
Cuz when I'm with you there's nowhere else  
That I would ever wanna be  
I'm breathing for the next second I can feel you  
Loving me...I'm gonna love  
  
_

The couple danced together, oblivious of anyone around them. All that seemed present was each other. It seemed like it was just the two of them, dancing the night away.

_  
I wanna love you forever  
And this is all I'm asking of you  
10,000 lifetimes together  
Is that so much for you to do?  
Cuz from the moment that I saw your face  
And felt the fire in your sweet embrace  
I swear I knew.  
I'm gonna love you forever  
  
_

When the music stopped, Lily lifted her head to face James. They were only inches apart. And even though she had been this close to him millions of times before, her heart still sped up. Just the thought of being that close to him made her this way.

She bent in and kissed him gently on the lips, never wanting that kiss to end.

"Happy Valentine's Day," Lily whispered once the kiss was finished.

"I love you," he whispered back.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Wow, that was a long one! Even without the songs I think it was pretty long (for me anyways!) Oh, and just to let you all know, Remus and Zoë do NOT have any love interest in each other. They are just friends. Both of them happened to be dateless for the Ball, that's why they ended up going together. And I know that the Jessica Simpson song was definitely not around back then, and "My Girl" was probably a little early for the late 70's, but it's my story and I can put whatever songs I want! Okay, so I hope you guys all liked it and please review! 


	28. Potion Class Mistakes

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to MissMrprk, little-angel123452000, Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, RawBean, alli8, Denise, and vid for reviewing! You guys are the greatest!

Denise: Okay, you asked if Sirius and Zoë would ever get together, well, I'll just say I have plans for them. I'm not saying they will get together, but I'm not saying they won't get together. All I'm saying is that I have plans for later chapters.

* * *

Once again the Gryffindors found themselves in their least favorite class, with their least favorite House, and with their least favorite professor. They were in potions class first thing in the morning.

"Okay, class, today you will be brewing the reverse potion for the speech deficiency potion that was made last week," Professor Rander told the class. "And, if you can manage it, we'll be testing it out on students."

The students stared at their teacher, waiting for her to tell them what to do next.

"What are you still doing at your seats? This takes an hour to brew!" Rander yelled.

At once the entire class jumped out of their seats and headed toward the cabinets, trying to find the ingredients needed.

And unfortunately for Lily, by the time she had gathered her ingredients, there was only one seat left. And that seat was next to Roscoe Jamison, one of the meanest people in school.

Roscoe had done almost as much hexing as the Marauders, although his was much more serious. He had been known to pick especially on muggle-borns, and had a family of well known supporters of the Dark Lord.

Lily remembered that on more than one occasion he had been awful to her, all because of being born into a muggle family. Her most vivid memory occurred in the beginning of fifth year-

_Lily had been sitting with Marissa and Gracie one day in early October. The three girls were outside that Sunday afternoon, enjoying the crisp autumn air. _

_"So, Lily, has Potter stopped asking you out yet?" Gracie asked. _

_"Not yet, that prat," Lily answered. _

_"When will he learn?" Gracie asked. _

_"Hopefully sooner than later," Lily replied with a laugh. _

_As the three of them were getting into a discussion on the new Quidditch captain for the Gryffindor team, who had grown into a very handsome man that summer, a group of Slytherin boys had started to linger near by. _

_And those boys were known other than Roscoe and three of his little sidekicks. All four of them were about the same height, around 5' 11", and all had a wickedness look to their faces. _

_They were huddling together, about ten feet from where Lily and her friends were sitting, when she heard a tremendous laugh from them. No doubt they were up to no good at all. And Lily was prepared, as prefect, to deduct points from the Slytherin House. _

_"What do you think they're talking about?" Marissa asked as she pointed over to them. _

_"No clue, but ten-to-one it involves the embarrassment and hurt of another student," Lily replied, a disgraceful look in her green orbs. _

_"Yeah, do you remember last week, when they hexed that poor first year from Ravenclaw?" Gracie asked. _

_"How could I forget? She was in the hospital wing for two days, poor kid," Lily responded. _

_"I know, and that little boy from Hufflepuff. They really shouldn't have pushed him into the lake last year, I mean, it was December, he could have frozen to death," Marissa added. _

_"Yeah, thank God that one of the Marauders had the decency to levitate him out," Gracie commented. _

_"Yeah, Remus has always been the only one of them that was responsible," Marissa responded. _

_"Can we stop talking about the Marauders?" Lily asked as she eyed the troublesome Slytherins nearby. _

_"Of course, I know how much they piss you off," Gracie answered. _

_"Thank you," Lily said calmly. _

_About five minutes later, Roscoe approached the three girls, and said, "Evans, I think that you should know, the Marauders are off playing a prank on __Snivellus__ again." _

_"Oh, well, thank you for telling me," Lily replied graciously. She was a bit surprised that Roscoe had told her this; he was known for loving mischief, and anything else that involved hurting and humiliating another person. And, he didn't even like __Snivellus__ that much, so why would he possibly tell her if he was getting hurt? _

_She went anyways though, abandoning her friends behind her. _

_'I swear, if they hurt __Snivellus again, they'll be in big trouble this time,' Lily silently told herself. _

_And as she went to where Roscoe had told her to go, she was shocked at what was there. _

_Absolutely nothing. _

_There were no Marauders, Snape, or for that matter, anybody at all. Lily turned around in shock, wondering why Roscoe had sent her this way in the first place. _

_She saw him at once, Roscoe standing there with his three best friends. They all had smug looks on their faces, as if knowing something that she didn't. _

_"What's going on?" Lily asked, trying to force her voice to be demanding instead of timid. _

_"Oh, just a bit of fun, Evans. Just a bit of fun," Roscoe told her. And then added, "For us that is." _

_Lily saw his smile increase as he took out his wand and pointed it in her direction, "Expelliarmus," Roscoe loudly said, forcing Lily's wand to fly out of her pocket and into his hand. _

_"Give me my wand," Lily demanded. _

_"Why? Mudbloods like yourself don't deserve to have a wand," Roscoe retorted. _

_"Give me my wand," Lily repeated. _

_"And what fun would that be?" he asked. _

_"Give it to me!" Lily yelled. _

_Roscoe and his friends let out a laugh, which just made Lily angry. All she wanted was to have her wand back, and for them to stop hassling her. But, unfortunately, that was not in their plans. _

_"Fiano!" Roscoe said deeply, pointing his wand at Lily's long skirt. _

_Lily looked down instantly, and saw that her skirt was on fire. Her skirt was on fire! _

_Lily screamed, knowing that she couldn't put it out with her wand. She began to furiously pat at it, hoping to reduce the flame. Unfortunately, it only made it worse, and the flame began to spread. _

_She could feel the tears coming down her cheeks now. She was so worried about getting the burning flame off of her. _

_She did the only thing she could think of, she quickly discarded the skirt. Knowing very well that it left her in only her top and her panties. But she had to get away from the spreading flame! _

_Roscoe and his friends looked at her with wide eyes. They had never expected that to happen! _

_Lily felt her face redden as she ran into the Forbidden Forest. She knew it was wrong, but she had to get away from those monstrous Slytherins. Plus, she wasn't about to run back up to the castle, not without her skirt anyway. _

_And then she saw it: Marissa, Gracie, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew were coming toward the laughing Slytherins. _

_'Great, just what I need, the Marauders here!' Lily silently told herself sarcastically. _

_"What the hell are you doing Roscoe?" James asked. _

_"Nothing that concerns you, Potter," Roscoe spat. _

_"Oy, Prongs, it looks like somebody's got two wands in his hands," Sirius commented. _

_"You know what Padfoot, I think you're right," James said while glaring at Roscoe. _

_"Where's Lily?" Gracie asked as the boys started to walk close to the Slytherins. _

_"How should I know?" Roscoe asked. _

_"Where is she?" James asked, his voice was deadly. _

_"I don't know," Roscoe answered coolly. _

_And in an instant Roscoe was pinned to the ground by James, who was pointing his wand at Roscoe as if to say, 'go on, just try me.' _

_"She ran into the forest," Roscoe blurted out, not wanting to be on the receiving end of James' wand. _

_"Lily wouldn't do that, it's against the rules," Marissa sternly said. _

_"She did," Roscoe sputtered. _

_The group was glaring at him hard, especially James. _

_And then Gracie said, "Look, its Lily's skirt! And it's all black." _

_Somewhere along the line, the fire had been put out, so only parts of it were destroyed. _

_"What did you do to her?" James asked as he pounded Roscoe's head against the dirt. _

_"Nothing." _

_"Bull shit. What'd you do?" James said as he jammed Roscoe's head further into the ground. _

_"It was just a harmless joke," one of Roscoe's friends named Mike said. _

_"What happened?" Marissa asked, her voice strong and dominant. She knew she couldn't take on Roscoe, but this Mike kid would be no problem. _

_When he didn't answer, Marissa looked sternly at him. Her eyes were pressing into his, a dangerous look to them. _

_"Her skirt caught on fire, and she took it off and ran into the forest," Mike said. Clearly he didn't respond well under pressure. _

_Then Marissa grabbed the skirt and ran into the woods to find Lily, leaving the Marauders to officially hex Roscoe and his friends to pieces. _

That memory stung at Lily hard whenever she saw Roscoe. She hated remembering how weak and defenseless she was. She never wanted to feel that way again. And she hated that the Marauders were the ones to come to her rescue. She had hated it then. She hated that she had to say thank you to her enemy at that time, James Potter.

"Hello Roscoe," Lily said politely, yet with a tint of distaste in her tone.

"Evans," he said coolly.

… 

James watched in disbelief as Lily took a seat next to Roscoe Jamison. He hated Roscoe, hated him even more than Snape. He had hated Roscoe ever since he was three years old, ever since Roscoe had broken his toy broom at a party.

But that was beside the point. James would never forget that day when Roscoe had put Lily's skirt on fire. He wasn't there to witness it, but he sure gave Roscoe a piece of his mind afterwards. No one touched Lily Evans and got away with it, no one.

Ever since James had started asking Lily out at the end of their fourth year, no one was allowed to touch her and get away with it. Everyone knew it. Everyone knew that James would hex them like no other if anyone had touched the girl of his dreams.

And now, seeing Lily being forced to sit with that bastard, it made James furious. He knew he was being protective, and that Lily could certainly take care of herself, as he was told many times before, but he still hated seeing them at the same work bench.

"Wormtail, look who Lily's sitting with," James mumbled as he began to chop his rugenburg.

"What's she doing sitting there?" Peter asked, following James' stare.

"I don't think there were any seats left," James explained.

"Well, don't get too mad about it James, "Peter said.

"I'm not mad," James replied sternly.

"Then why are you chopping that like a madman?" Peter questioned while pointing down to James' sloppily cut rugenburg.

"Okay, fine. I don't like it," James admitted.

"I knew it," Peter replied with a smile. "You're just concerned about your girlfriend, mate. It's perfectly normal."

"Yeah, yeah," James said.

"Oh, and why isn't mine as deep red as yours?" Peter asked while glancing down at the cauldrons.

"You didn't add enough mintle leaves," James automatically said.

"Oh, how many were we supposed to add?"

"Three large ones," James explained.

"But I did that," Peter said while looking down at his own concoction.

"Try putting about half of that small one in, see if it makes a difference," James advised.

"Prongs, are you sure?" Peter asked.

"Yup, and if I'm wrong, I'll trade with you," James assured.

Peter smiled at his friend. James had always been so nice to him, like a true friend. And was always willing to help him with whatever he needed. Whether it was homework, girls, or even pointers in Quidditch.

And just as James had expected, once that extra part of a leaf was added, the potion turned into the deep scarlet color that it was supposed to look like.

"See, Wormtail, what'd I tell," James said happily as he looked over at Peter's potion.

"Yes indeed, Prongs, you are the master of Potions," Peter said with a smile. He admired his friend so much, and didn't mind giving James the confidence and ego booster every now and then.

… 

Little did James know, but Lily had been watching him the entire time. She watched as James gave his friend helpful advise about the potion.

And James wasn't the only one being watched, Roscoe was indeed keeping an eye on Lily. He kept on glancing her way, and occasionally toward James. He wanted to make sure that he wouldn't be seen by either Lily or her dreadful boyfriend.

And when the coast was clear, a smile emerged on his face. He would teach that mudblood a lesson or two in potions. And number one was, always keep your eyes on the cauldron.

When Lily was truly not looking at her work space, Roscoe slipped in a few dashes extra of Dragon's Fire extract. The potion called for one quick dash, but with almost a teaspoon of the extract, it could do horrors. And the most discreet thing about it was that it was undetected by color, texture, or smell. So there would be no way in telling if it was wrong.

"Evans," Roscoe said once he was finished.

Her attention immediately went to him, and away from James.

"Yes," she said patiently.

"You might want to stop staring at lover-boy and pay attention to the potion. If you don't stir it at a constant speed it could go awfully wrong," Roscoe informed her.

She looked at him for a second, unsure if he spoke the truth or not. After all, he just couldn't be trusted.

Lily glanced down at her text book, reading the directions clearly. She was surprised to see that 'stir at a constant speed' was written in bold lettering.

"Thank you," she told him.

"Don't mention it. I just didn't want to catch on _fire_ if it exploded," he told her with a smirk.

Lily's face went into a deathly glare. There was always a reason for Roscoe's words, always a reason to humiliate her.

… 

By the end of class, Lily was quite satisfied with her potion. It looked great, even better than Snape's and he was only third to James and Sirius in the class.

"Alright, this potion will be tested by… Lily Evans," Rander said as she looked at her list. Each class she had a different student test a sample of their potion in front of the entire class. Well, as long as the potion could do no harm, that is.

Lily smiled as she brought her potion forward.

"Now class if Miss Evans has done this correctly, her speech will come back to normal after I charm it to do otherwise," Rander told the class.

She then pulled out her wand and muttered the charm to make Lily not be able to speak at all.

Lily opened her mouth to try, but no words came out. So, she took a glass of her potion and took a giant gulp of it, letting the liquid ooze down her throat.

Lily's eyes immediately went wide; she felt something wrong in her mouth. Something was wrong with the potion! Her hands went up to her mouth in an alarming manner, and her heart began to beat faster.

"What is it, Evans?" Rander asked when she noticed what was happening.

Lily opened her mouth to talk, but no sound came out at all.

In fact, it looked as if her tongue was disintegrating. The potion was burning her mouth, literally!

Rander's eyes went wide when she realized what was happening. And she snapped, " Dalton, take her to the hospital wing, and hurry for god's sake."

James watched as Scarlett took Lily by the arm and led her out of the dungeon. He couldn't believe what was happening. Lily had never failed to mess up a potion before, never. And there she was being rushed to the hospital wing to see Madame Lingwood.

"Now class, let that be a lesson to you all. Never, ever, put in more than a small dash of Dragon's Fire extract in your potion," Rander told the class.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Okay everyone, here's chapter 28! I hope you guys like it, and please review! Oh, and also, I know I haven't updated in a few days, but I had a mini-writers block! I know what I'm doing next though! Oh, and just as a head's up, I start school next week, so I won't be able to update nearly as often. Sorry!


	29. Ink Stain

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to Denise, Black and Potter, Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot, Blad3, lOvEiNhEaVeN, little-angel123452000, MissMrprk, RawBean, allie, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, and ilovecaptainjacks for reviewing! And I am so happy, I've got 190 reviews so far! Just ten away from 200! It's weird to think that when I first started I was hoping for maybe 50 reviews about this time! That just shows how great you all are!

Denise: No, I'm sorry, but I have no plans on writing a Hermione and Draco story. Sorry! But I don't really like to read or write any stories that have to deal with any of J.K's major characters. I really only like Lily and James stories, that way I can express how I think their personalities are, because J.K hasn't mentioned them very often. However, I am thinking about writing a Lucius and Narcissa story next summer. In case you may be interested in that, but you'll have to wait until June.

* * *

"So, Prongs, how's Lily?" Remus asked as James entered the dorm room that night. James had just been down to visit Lily in the hospital wing, after the incident in potions class.

"I didn't see her," James responded.

"Did that old bat, Lingwood, not let you in?" Sirius asked.

"She let me in," responded James.

"Then why didn't you see her?" Sirius asked.

"Lily wouldn't let me in," James told the group.

"What?" the three remaining Marauders asked.

"Lily said she didn't want to see me," James repeated.

"Why wouldn't she want to see you?" Peter asked.

"I don't know… I just can't understand that," James answered.

"Maybe she has other company, that's why she didn't want to see you. You know, maybe she wanted to see you alone," Remus suggested.

"Who else would she be seeing?" James snapped.

"That's right, I forgot that you're the only person in the world that she knows," Remus said sarcastically.

"But, but, I saw Scarlett, Marissa, Zoë, and Gracie down stairs," James replied.

"And God forbid that Lily can have other friends than just the four of them," Remus answered, with just a tad bit of irony in his voice.

"You know what Moony, you're absolutely right," James said with a smile. "She just wants to wait until she can have me all alone."

"Oh yes, Prongs, and the two of you will have hot, passionate sex, just because she wanted to see you alone," Sirius said with a smirk, knowing only too well that it would put a damper on James' hopes.

"You just have to spoil every thing, don't you," James said grumpily.

"Sure do," Sirius answered with a smile. And then said, "Cheer up, mate, I just thought of the perfect prank."

"Prongs isn't supposed to do pranks anymore, remember Padfoot. Lily would kill him for not taking his Head Boy responsibilities seriously," Peter remarked.

"Yes, but what Lily doesn't know can't hurt anyone," Remus said with a smile.

Peter smiled back, knowing that it would truly be a Marauder night that night.

"James, you in?" Sirius asked.

"What did you have in mind?" James asked with a smile.

…

As the four boys left their dorm room, they each had a determined, yet devious look on their faces. It was certainly the look of not only a prank, but trouble coming on.

"Where are you going?" came a voice from behind them. The four Marauders instantly recognized it as Zoë's, or it could have been Marissa's, the two had a remarkably alike voice.

They turned around, almost in unison, as if being caught snaking out of the house by a parent. They saw Zoë standing behind them, her hands on her hips, and a scowl on her face.

"No where," Sirius responded.

"It doesn't look like no where," she said.

"Well, it very well isn't any of your business," Sirius snapped.

"Is that so?" Zoë asked, "Are you off to go about on another prank, because I can guarantee, James Potter, that was one of the things that rather annoyed Lily. Always finding a way to humiliate another student for your own fun and joy."

'Damn, she knows us too well,' James muttered to himself.

"Actually, if you must know, we were off to visit Lily in the hospital wing," Peter said, thinking of the most realistic lie he could think of.

Zoë looked them over for a second, wondering if that was truly the truth or not. "James, you already went down there, and Lily said she didn't want to talk to you."

"How'd you know that?" James asked.

"She got bored down there and sent Gracie and owl saying so," she answered.

"Yes, well, I wanted to know why, that's why we are going down there," James lied.

"I can tell you that," Zoë answered, this would be the true test to see if the Marauders were really up to a prank or not. She figured that if they were, they wouldn't care what she told them, they'd still leave anyways. And if they truly were going to see Lily then they would march back up the to their dorm room.

"Well, what is it?" James asked, now he was actually interested.

"She doesn't want you to see her, because she thinks she looks hideous. She said that she was embarrassed that anyone should see her with half her mouth being disintegrated and all. And she'll be better tomorrow," Zoë told him.

"Really?" James asked.

"Yes," she answered.

"Well, she shouldn't care, it doesn't matter what she looks like… Besides, I've seen a guy get his thumb knocked off by a bludger before, and when you've seen that, you've seen everything," James commented.

"Eww, are you serious?" Zoë asked.

"Yeah, the stupid idiot was flying with a broken thumb, served him right," James answered.

"When was that?" she asked.

"At my house, a few summers ago," James told her, and then added, "Do you remember that Padfoot?"

"How could I forget, the thing almost hit me," he replied.

Zoë had a look of disgust on her face, and asked, "Who was it?"

"My cousin, the stupid dolt," James remarked. And then said, "Mum was pretty pissed, he got some blood on the new patio."

"You know, I'm not sure that I want to hear anymore of this," Zoë said.

"Understandable, it really grossed me out the first time I heard it," Peter told her.

Zoë gave him a smile and then left the Marauders, not wanting to hear anymore gruesome stories.

"Okay, she's gone, let's go," James said was Zoë was out of their hearing zone.

"No, we can't. We've got to go back up to the dorm, or she'll know we're up to something," Sirius told the group

"I don't know," Remus said with a doubtful look on his face.

"Trust me," Sirius said as the group of boys headed back up their dorm room.

… 

"What was that all about?" Marissa asked as her twin sister came back to their spot in front of the fireplace.

"Nothing," Zoë replied. "Absolutely nothing."

"Okay," Marissa replied before flipping back to her fashion magazine.

However, Zoë couldn't get the thought of a serious prank coming into action soon. It would be the perfect time for a prank; none of the Marauders had done one in quite some time. But on the other side, they did go back to their room, not out to roam the halls.

… 

"We're not going to fit under this thing, not all of us," Peter told them as each boy tried his hardest to cramp under the invisibility cloak.

"Wormtail's right, it's physically impossible," Remus agreed.

"But we need to do this, I'm in the mood for a prank," James complained.

"Okay, Peter, turn into Wormtail, then we'll be able to fit," Sirius suggested.

In an instant, where Peter had stood was a tiny rat instead. He scampered up Sirius's pant leg and onto his shoulder, as he didn't want to be stepped on.

Then the boys tried it again, tried to fit under the cloak they had come to love. And luckily, if the remaining Marauders in human shape hunched over, they were able to fit under the cloak.

By the time they managed to get down the stairs, they noticed Zoë sitting alone by the fireplace; her closest friends obviously having other stuff to do.

Sirius motioned his friends over to the girl. She was writing an essay for their defense against the dark arts class, and unfortunately ink was spilling all over her outfit. Sirius laughed a bit when he saw that, but quickly shut up when she turned her head in their direction.

When she saw nothing out of the usual, she went back to her essay.

But Sirius couldn't help himself any longer. Here was the girl that drove him insane ever since she made the quidditch team, and she was giving him the perfect opportunity. He whispered, "Wingardium Leviosa," while pointing his wand at the bottle of ink.

In an instant, the bottle was floating above Zoë's head, and she was completely unaware of it. Sirius smiled while the other Marauders watched. They knew what their friend was doing was mean, but it was all in fun nature, right?

With the flick of his wand the bottle fell, and all that could be heard were the screams of the Zoë Sutton.

Ink was sprawled all over her blonde hair, and slowly making its way down her forehead. She threw her paper in front of her, not wanting it to be ruined by the ink. Her hands went to her forehead, trying to wipe away the black ink. But all it did was spread the ink onto her formerly white fingertips.

"What the fuck," she cursed while spinning around furiously. She needed to see you the culprit was, but no one was there. Only a few fifth years playing a game of exploding snap, and they were half way across the room.

"Who did this?" she shouted.

There wasn't an answer, not even a sound from the boys playing exploding snap.

"Damn it," she said furiously as she ran up the stairs to her dorm.

Once she was out of sight, the Marauders made their way out of the portrait hole, and Sirius began to crack up laughing. Peter was laughing as well, at least as well as a rat could laugh.

"Did you see her face?" Sirius asked quietly, not wanting anyone to hear him other than his four closest friends.

"Yeah, Padfoot, it was riot," Remus said, although his face slightly disagreed with his words.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, sensing the lack of humor in his voice.

"She looked kind of upset, that's all," Remus replied.

"Oh, well, she deserved it. Do you know how much crap that girl has put me through? She's the reason that I lost about five shags in the past year and half, and all she does is insult me, not to mention annoy me," Sirius explained.

"You're just mad at her because she can beat you in quidditch," Remus remarked.

"No she bloody can't," Sirius loudly said, almost forgetting they were hiding beneath the cloak.

"Okay, fine, you win. She deserved the ink thing, and she can't beat you in quidditch," Remus said, although none of it was true. He only said it to avoid Sirius in a bad mood, as that was no fun at all. None of the Marauders wanted to be anywhere near Sirius when he was in a bad mood.

There was an awkward moment for a second, but then James said, "Why don't we go to Snivellus now?"

"Yeah, come on, the slimy git is probably around here somewhere," Sirius replied.

And with that said, the four Marauders made their way through the halls, just looking for their prime Slytherin to prank.

It wasn't long before they found Severus Snape; it seemed that he was walking back to his dorm room, probably just coming back from the library. He had a stack of books piled high in his arms, and the Marauders guessed they were all about dark arts, which Snape had recently become very keen on.

James took his wand out of his pocket, and whispered to his fellow Marauders, "Okay, time for some fun."

In an instant Peter had transformed back into his human shape, and Remus hid the cloak behind a statue of Liam the Great. All four boys had their wands out, and a devious smile on their faces.

And then James whispered, "Wingardium Leviousa," and the books in Snape's hands began to rise. He looked up at them, and even tried to pull them down, but it was no use. They were sailing high above his head, where not even Hagrid could reach them.

James smiled as he watched the books fall to the floor with a gigantic thud, and one even managed to smack Snape on the shoulder, which he grasped onto for dear life afterward.

"Who's there?" Snape asked, while holding his wand above his head.

"Your worst nightmare," Sirius answered with a grin.

Snape's face went deadly white. He knew that when the Marauders decided to pick and torment him, there was no stopping them.

"What's wrong Snivelly?" James asked in a mocking tone, "Did you drop your books?"

Snape said nothing, just stared at them, fury in his eyes.

"Shall I help you Snivellus?" Peter asked with a laugh as he flicked his wand and the books went flying down the corridor. "Oops," was all that Peter said to that, even though that was his exact intentions.

"Leave me alone," Snape muttered, "Or, I'll, I'll…"

"You'll do what? Wipe your greasy hair on us?" Sirius asked with a snicker.

"I'll hex you," Snape shouted.

"You wouldn't dare," James casually said while he magically pinned Snape against the icy cold corridor walls.

As the Marauders started to close in on him, a thought came into Snape's mind, "Potter, did you ever wonder why your mudblood girlfriend got the potion wrong?"

James' face twisted up and he sent a curse Snape's way, making him fall to the ground in an instant.

Apparently, that was not the best choice of words to use.

"What did you do?" James asked as he pointed his wand to Snape's throat.

"I didn't do anything," Snape instantly replied, not wanting James to do any more harm to him.

"He's just pulling your strings Prongs, ignore him," Sirius advised as he too surrounded Snape.

"If you let me go, I'll tell you who did it," Snape told them.

"Fine," James muttered, "But if you lie to me, I'll assure you that you'll wish you had never set foot in this school."

James then released Snape from the spell, and even backed off a few steps. But the Marauders were still surrounding Snape, making sure that he would try and make a run for it.

"What happened?" James demanded.

"I heard Roscoe Jamison bragging about this in the common room earlier today," Snape started, "He was saying that he had finally done it, finally gotten Evans badly. He said that while she was gaping stupidly at you, Potter, he slipped a few extra dashes of Dragon Fire extract in her cauldron."

"That fucking bastard," James cursed.

"There, now you know, and I'll just be on my way," Snape said quickly.

"Not so fast, Snivelly," Sirius told him.

"What? You said you wouldn't do anything," Snape said sharply.

"Yeah, but you called Lily, a, a, you know what, and nobody does that and gets away with it," Sirius told him.

And a second later the babbling curse had hit him. And not a single person could understand a word he was saying. Snape was running down the hallway saying, "uckin mard e a ler blo nop shek an bolf."

They all burst out laughing as they watched Snape suffer, knowing the curse wouldn't stop until lifted off. And unfortunately for Snape, he didn't have too many friends.

"So, I guess we couldn't do the big prank after all," Sirius said miserably.

"Yeah, guess we'll have to save it for another time," Remus said.

"Or, we could use it tomorrow, just on a different person," James told the group.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Okay guys, I hope you liked chapter 29! And you may or may not have noticed it, but I'm working hard on making my chapters longer (about the length of this one.) Anyways, I hope you guys liked this one, and please review!


	30. Into The Slytherin Common Room

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to bitter.sweet.31, Denise, ilovecaptainjacks, milkywaypnay37, sblomie, eternalevil, Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, lOvEiNhEaVeN, judichild, MissMrprk, HarryPotterFan670, little-angel123452000, Jessie xxx, potter fan sadfsdj, and alli8 for reviewing! I love you all to pieces!

lOvEiNhEaVeN: Oh, um, actually I'm not quite sure what Snape was exactly saying. It was somewhere among the lines of cursing the marauders to Hell.

* * *

The next day Lily was still in the hospital wing, and still not wanting to see James. She was absolutely disgusted with herself, not able to think of how she could have messed up her potion. That just wasn't like her at all. True, potions wasn't her best subject, and certainly not her favorite, but she had always done okay in it. Never in her years had she ever messed up any thing so bad in her life.

"Miss Evans, you have a visitor," Madame Lingwood told her patient.

"Who is it?" Lily asked.

"Miss Dalton," the nurse responded.

"I'll see her."

In a few moments, Scarlett was sitting next to Lily. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and it made her look somewhat stern.

"Hey, Lily, how've you been?" Scarlett asked.

"I've been better. But at least the erosion in my mouth stopped. Now all I have to do is wait until the swelling from the medicine goes down," Lily commented.

"At least you're getting better," Scarlett said cheerfully.

"Famous last words," Lily mumbled.

"Why aren't you letting James see you?"

"I wrote an owl last night, telling you why," Lily stated.

"That's all? Just because you thought you didn't look good?" Scarlett asked.

"Yes, is there a problem with that?"

"I just don't see why. I mean, you've never been self-conscious about your looks before. And James doesn't care what you look like," Scarlett answered.

"Well, maybe if half of your mouth started burning away, you'd be a little upset by the way you looked," Lily bitterly replied.

"But he doesn't care. And he was kind of upset when he came back last night learning that you didn't want to see him."

"I'm sorry, but you're lucky I'm letting you see me like this. I'm not about to let James see me looking like a hideous thing," Lily said.

"But, Lils, it doesn't look too bad."

"Last night half my tongue was missing, along with the insides of my cheeks. I think that's quite disturbing, if you ask me," Lily responded.

"What about today though? Are you going to let him see you, because he does want to," said Scarlett.

"Look at me. My lips are five times the size they should be, my tongue and cheeks are swollen. And they feel like they've been stabbed. So, the answer is no. I'm not in the mood to see him anyways," Lily answered.

"Just because you can't snog him?" Scarlett asked jokingly.

Lily face turned bright red, and she replied, "No, that's not why."

Scarlett started laughing at that, and said, "So that's it, isn't it? You just don't want to see him because you won't be able to kiss him. My god, you sound just like Marissa."

"Shut up, no I don't."

"Yes you do, admit it," Scarlett teased.

"You know, I'm feeling a bit tired, maybe you should go," Lily said while trying to change the subject.

"Fine, I'll go. But mark my words, I'm only going to save you the embarrassment of admitting that I'm right," Scarlett said before leaving Lily's side.

"Bye, Scarlett."

"I'll see you later."

…

"Prongs, how are we supposed to get to Roscoe, he's always in the Slytherin common room?" Peter asked.

The four boys were finally ready to get Roscoe back for adding those ingredients to Lily's potion. The only trouble was that they weren't positive how they were going to go about finding Roscoe Jamison.

"I'm not sure," James replied honestly.

"We could use the cloak," Remus suggested.

"Moony, the cloak makes us invisible, but we can't walk through walls or anything," Sirius replied.

"No, you moron, we could use the cloak to find out the password to the Slytherin common room. You know, wait there under it until somebody needs to go in, and then we'll hear the password," Remus explained.

"Moony, you're a bloody genius!" Sirius called out. "And, we'll have the password, so we can go in there and torment Snape too!"

"Jeez, we should've thought about that a few years ago," Peter added, "That way we could have hexed him in front of all his Slytherin friends before."

"Who says we can't still do that?" Sirius asked with a mischievous look on his face.

"Guys, not to get too carried away with my genius idea, but we're going in there for Roscoe, not Snape," Remus told his friends.

"Oh, right, forgot about that for a second," Sirius casually said.

"Okay them, who wants to stand outside and wait?" James asked.

Nobody said anything.

"Anybody?" James asked hopefully.

"Why don't you do it, she's your girlfriend," Sirius said.

"But, I need to be here for planning," James remarked.

"What planning? We've done all the planning already," Remus replied.

"Fine, fine, I'll go, but only because somebody has to," James complained loudly. He then grabbed his invisibility cloak, draped it over his shoulders and headed out the door.

He knew perfectly well where the Slytherin common room was. He and his fellow Marauders had tried numerous times to break in, wanting to cause havoc on the bullies in Slytherin. They were unsuccessful, of course, and ended up waiting until the next morning to hex Snape instead.

He was walking passed McGonagall's private office, when he heard her speaking to Dumbledore. Her words were muffled at first, but as James stepped closer to the door, pressing his ear against it, he could hear them clearly.

"Albus, are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes, it's the only way I see fitting. With everything going on with Voldermort," -James flinched slightly when he heard the name- "I think it's the best way."

"Should we at least tell the Minister?"

"I don't think that it's necessary. The Order doesn't have to have any members from the Ministry at all, only if they choose to be in it, so he shouldn't be concerned," Dumbledore answered.

James thought for a second, what was the Order? He'd never heard of it before. And why wasn't it the Minister of Magic's business?

"I know Mad-Eye seemed quite interested when I told him about it," Dumbledore remarked.

"Mad-Eye, well he's the top auror in our age," McGonagall said.

"Indeed, and he seemed keen on the idea, as well as a few others that I've talked with,' Dumbledore said.

'Mad-Eye Moody, why he's one of the coolest people I've ever met,' James thought. Whatever this 'Order' thing was, he certainly wanted to be part of it.

Just then he saw a girl with a Slytherin badge walk by. She looked to be about fourteen, give or take a year. And as much as James wanted to listen to more of the conversation, he knew this was is chance to find the password out.

He followed the girl down the corridor to the Slytherin common room, which happened to be a different path than he would have taken. And, it turned out that this route was much quicker.

When they got to the portrait of a young man sitting in a rocking chair, with several snakes lingering below him, James knew they were at the common room entrance.

The girl looked timidly around her, as if she could sense James' presence. But once she saw nothing, she said, "Perfect Blood."

James felt like laughing after hearing the password. It was obvious that the password was student chosen, and was clearly not true at all. The Slytherins had far from perfect blood; each one of them was in line to become a death eater as soon as school ended. And to James, that certainly didn't count as 'Perfect Blood.'

As James made his way back to the Gryffindor common room, he stopped next to McGonagall's door once again, trying to hear if the teachers were still discussing this 'Order' thing. And to James' luck, the teachers were still there.

"Albus, are you sure that's the right place to meet? It's so easily found," McGonagall said.

James' brows went together, where were they talking about meeting?

"Of course it is, Minerva. Besides, it doesn't matter the location, as long as it's large enough. We need a large amount of room for everyone to fit in."

"But if it's so large, then don't you think that you-know-who would be able to detect us?"

"Minerva, call him by his name, it isn't proper to call him you-know-who, and it gets rather confusing. Call him Voldermort. And as for that, I've got a charm in mind, one that would make it so he could look through the window and not see us," Dumbledore remarked.

"And what charm is that?"

"The fidelous charm, which seems to be a great solution."

"If you say so, Albus," McGonagall said.

"Alright, now that that is taken care of, I suppose I should go tell Mad-Eye of the final plans," Dumbledore announced.

James heard the professors coming toward the door, and he ran swiftly away from it. If he were to be caught listening in on their conversation, he would be in so much trouble.

When James got back to the room, he was quite surprised at a few extra pranks that Sirius had come up with. They were, in fact, simply brilliant. And it was quite accessible now that they could enter the Slytherin common room. They were the perfect pranks, and no one would suspect the Marauders.

In fact, James was so interested with the two additional pranks, that he almost forgot to mention the conversation he had heard between McGonagall and Dumbledore. They too were intrigued by the secret meeting place. All four boys wanted to know exactly what it was, other than the obvious fact that it was related to Voldermort. And as for the location, they all wanted to know that as well.

"I say we raid Dumbledore's office, see if he's got any papers lying around," Sirius said.

"Are you stupid? We can't go into Dumbledore's office," Remus logically said.

"Why not? He barely ever there, you know with all the trials going on and such," Sirius replied.

"But it's his personal space," Remus protested.

"You guys, as curious as this is, don't you think we should be pranking Roscoe now?" Peter asked.

"Right, we'll prank today, snoop Dumbledore's office another day," Sirius exclaimed.

"We can't snoop in his office," Remus sternly said.

"We can, and we will. Even if you choose not to come," Sirius retorted.

"I'd come, but it's still wrong," Remus responded, although it was more to himself than to anyone else.

"But now, we are going to prank Roscoe!" James said with a grin on his face.

"Right we are, Prongs," Sirius said with an equally mischief grin on his face.

With that said, all four boys made their way out of the dorm room, down the stairs to the common room, and out the portrait of the Fat Lady. Once they were outside, they ducked into a boy's bathroom, where Peter could transform into his rat Animagus form. They then proceeded to place the cloak over themselves (Peter resting on Remus' shoulder,) and made their way down the long corridors toward the Slytherin common room.

When they reached the portrait of the man with snakes around him, James muttered, "Perfect Blood."

"Who's there?" the portrait asked, "I don't see anyone."

"Just because you can't see me doesn't mean I'm not here," Remus said in a voice that sounded remarkably similar to Mike's, one of Roscoe's sidekicks.

"Whatever you say," the portrait said before swinging open.

After climbing through, the Marauders were astonished at the Slytherin common room. It looked nothing like Gryffindor's. It wasn't nearly as cozy looking, and it was a tad bit colder inside as well. A few young Slytherin girls were sitting by the fireplace, writing what appeared to be a paper for defense against the dark arts. And a few chairs away from that was Roscoe Jamison sitting with a few friends of his.

"Look," Remus whispered just loud enough for the Marauders to hear him. He was pointing at Roscoe, who was now calling over a girl from the opposite side of the room. The girl had long blonde hair, almost white looking. And her face clearly showed she wasn't very pleasant at all.

"Holy shit," Sirius quietly mumbled.

His friends all looked over at him, wondering who she could be, and why it seemed to affect Sirius.

She didn't look very familiar, not from classes anyways. She was at least a year younger than them, but the Marauders hadn't paid much attention to her in the past, them being Gryffindors. Her skin was extremely pale, as if she hadn't been in the sun for years. In fact, the only dash of color seemed to be the robe she was wearing, which happened to be her black Hogwarts one.

"Padfoot, you okay?" James asked.

"I'm fine, let's just do this already," Sirius commented quietly.

And with that said, the Marauders snuck their way up the stairs to the boys' dormitories. They quickly found the two door marked, "7th Year," which was followed by a list of their names. Sirius was a little disappointed that Roscoe's dorm wasn't the same as Snape's but he quickly got over it. Remus reached forward, opened the door, and the rest of them followed him inside.

The room had five beds in it, each one a terrible mess. Dirty clothes were covering the floor, and school books seemed to be dropped everywhere. Actually, it didn't look too different from the Marauders room, with the exception of the sheets and trunks.

They were relieved to find the room empty at the moment, and took the cloak off. Wanting to be able to have their own space to breath, and not be huddled together.

"Which one do you think is Roscoe's?" Remus asked as he surveyed the beds.

"It's got to be that one," James said as he pointed to the bed farthest on the left.

"Why do you think that?" Peter asked as he transformed back into his human shape.

"Because, it's the nastiest looking one here," James commented.

"Are you willing to bet that it's that one?" Sirius asked, a mischievous glow to his face.

"What are you thinking?" Remus asked.

"Why don't we just have a little fun with all of them?"

"You mean do it to all the beds?" Peter asked.

"Yup," Sirius replied with a grin.

And with that said, each boy went to a bed. They started muttering spells under their breathes. And once all five beds were charmed (Sirius ended up doing two beds,) the boys started laughing. It would certainly be funny to see what would happen that night. And James could just imagine seeing Roscoe climb into his bed and suddenly have the bed try to eat him. It would truly be quite hilarious. Plus, no one would ever suspect how to get the bed to stop eating you. And it really was a simple task; all you had to do was tickle it.

"Alright boys, one thing down," Sirius said happily.

"Indeed, now for the bathrooms," James said with a grin.

When the four boys entered the bathroom, they were truly disgusted. There was filth everywhere, as if the house elves refused to clean it or something.

"Now this is just gross," Sirius commented as he picked up an empty tube of toothpaste which had ended up on the tile floor. And unfortunately, it hadn't been empty when it first reached the floor. Someone must have stepped on it, because there was a line of green along the floor.

"Really, have these people ever heard of hygiene?" Peter asked with a disgusted look on his face.

Then the boys went to work. They exchanged the bottles of shampoo with a potion that they had brewed themselves. One that would make your hair pink for the week, and there was nothing you could do to save it. It rejected other dyes, and grew back incredibly fast, so you couldn't even cut it off. And the only way to make it go away was to wait it out.

"This should be interesting," Peter said with a grin once they finished.

"I know, and now for my personal favorite part," James replied with a smirk.

"It's only your favorite because you modified _my _version of it this morning," Sirius muttered.

The boys then went under the cloak again, and Peter changed back into a rat for travel purposes. They headed down the stairs, and over to the common room. They stopped where Roscoe was sitting. And they noticed that the girl he was with was sitting on his lap, smiling at him. Needless to say, it was enough to make the Marauders gag, especially Sirius.

Just then Sirius's eyes sparkled with an idea. He bent his head to the side a bit, and whispered, "Can I do something first?"

James looked at his friend, curious at what it was, but nodded his head anyway.

Sirius smirked, and then whispered a charm, making him smile a bit more.

"Oh Roscoe, you are just the strongest guy I have ever met," the girl said as she touched his chest with her hand.

"And you, are the ugliest woman I have ever met." Immediately after Roscoe said those words he gasped. 'Did I just say that?' he silently asked himself.

The girl looked outraged. "Bastard," she said as she slapped him across the face.

"No, wait, Anika, I didn't mean that. I meant to say that you are the most hideous person I ever met," Roscoe said. His hand went to him lips again, 'why am I saying this is?' he wondered.

The Marauders were trying their hardest to not to bust out laughing. Sirius's prank, was great. Every time he wanted to compliment someone, he ended up saying the exact opposite. And in this case he was driving the girl away.

Once they had regained their composure, and Roscoe had come back from trying and failing to talk with Anika, the Marauders truly did their real prank. Roscoe was sitting by himself, obviously mad that Anika had just yelled at him.

James smirked as he whispered a charm, pointing his wand as Roscoe.

"Come on," James whispered to his friends and the four of them made their way out of the Slytherin common room.

Once they were out in the hallway, they darted in to the nearest bathroom. They removed the cloak and Peter transferred back into his human form.

"Prongs, nothing happened to Roscoe yet," Peter said.

"I know, the first charm had to set with him for at least five hours. Then tomorrow, in the Great Hall, I'll finish the charm. And then, my dear friends, Roscoe Jamison will be the laughing stock of the school," James said with a smirk.

"I still think we should have gone with my rendition of the prank," Sirius remarked.

"No, it's better this way, more painful. I mean, every time the guy says something rude, mean, or hurtful, he'll have two boils appear on his skin. And every time he thinks something rude, mean, or hurtful, he'll have one boils appear. And can you imagine what it would be like having boils are over your face, arms, legs, and wherever else they may appear?" James said.

"True, that's probably a little worse," Sirius commented.

"Padfoot, cheer up. We'll make hair grow rapidly on Snape every time he says something mean. That way we'll be able to use your plan sometime," Remus said with a smile.

"Okay," Sirius replied brightly.

"Oh, and Padfoot, why did you freak out when you saw that Anika girl?" James asked as the four boys headed back to their own common room.

"She's another dratted cousin of mine," he answered miserably.

"Sorry, mate," Remus said.

"Yeah… I mean its bad enough that Narcissa is marrying Lucius Malfoy this summer. I just couldn't stand to think that Anika was actually flirting with Roscoe Jamison," Sirius told his friends.

James thought about Sirius's words for a moment. He remembered Narcissa Black; she graduated out of Slytherin House two years ago. Whenever she had seen Sirius in the hall she gave him a dreadfully dirt look, as if saying he was a traitor. And Lucius Malfoy, James had heard that name before. The Malfoy family was known for their support of the Dark Lord. James had heard his family talk about them many times before, always commented on how nasty they were. Lucius, James remembered, had been Head Boy when he was in third year. He had always enjoyed taking points away from every house except Slytherin, and he even took away points for no reason at all.

Come to think of it, their weren't many in Sirius's family that hadn't been in Slytherin. Dating all the way back to centuries in the past, all of them pure-blood. James knew how much Sirius hated his family. He hated almost every single one of them for being supporters of the You-know-who. And it turn, they all hated him for being a Gryffindor.

"Don't worry about it, mate. Besides, apart from your last name, you're not associated with them anyways. Every one knows how great you are," Remus supportively said.

"Yeah, that's what I keep telling myself," Sirius remarked. And then said, "Alright mates, I'm starving, so if you don't mind, I'll be heading off to the kitchens. Anyone want to come?"

All four boys nodded their heads, and followed Sirius to the kitchen for a few snacks. None of them could wait for the next morning, knowing only too well it was going to be an eventful morning.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Hey guys, wow this is probably the longest chapter I have ever written! Anyways, hope you guys all enjoyed it, and please review!


	31. Lily Finds Out

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to ilovecaptainjacks, lOvEiNhEaVeN, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, MissMrprk, kj-11913, allie, RawBean, HarryPotterFan670, Denise, siriuszsecretlover, alli8, Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot, and Bella the Witch for reviewing! You guys are the coolest!

lOvEiNhEaVeN: Yeah, I made Anika up. She's not related to Sirius (according to the books anyways.) But I had always pictured the characters that J.K had written as Sirius's cousins having graduated from Hogwarts before Sirius did.

Bella the Witch: Oh, thanks for taking the time to email me the review! I really appreciate it! But you don't have to email to review, it's fine with me. I mean, if you really want to, you can. It doesn't matter to me.

* * *

"Can I go now, Madame Lingwood?" Lily asked. She was feeling much better, and was looking like her normal self again.

"Miss Evans, you've only just recovered last night," Madame Lingwood responded.

"But I have recovered," Lily stated.

"That's true," the nurse replied, although it was more for herself than to Lily.

"And I would hate to take up precious bed space, when other students may need it," Lily innocently told her.

"Don't be silly, you're not taking up any space at all," Lingwood said. She seemed to have snapped back into her usual self, not letting a student leave unless a full recovery with days of rest afterward had taken place.

Lily was determined though. She didn't like to be in the hospital wing. It had always given her the creeps for some reason. And it was quite depressing as well. Plus, Lily wanted to see her friends again, especially James.

She shut her fast a few times, forcing liquid to appear in her green eyes. "But, Madame, I can't afford to miss any of my school work."

Madame Lingwood turned to face Lily, and saw the glistening eyes of a child. Her soften a little bit, hating it when people cried. "Miss Evans, you are a terrific student, you won't fall behind."

"But, it's just that… because I'm muggle born, I'm always trying to prove myself. Trying to prove myself academically to all of those who don't believe muggle borns are good witches," Lily explained.

"Oh, dear, yes I understand. My best friend while I was here was a muggle born; she was always proving herself worthy of being a witch. I understand where you're coming from," the nurse said.

"Then you'll let me go to my classes?" Lily asked hopefully.

"Yes, of course," Lingwood replied.

"Thank you so much," Lily said as she jumped out of the bed.

As she walked out of the hospital wing, she was actually quite surprised that she had been able to pull it off. Truthfully, she didn't mind missing classes; after all, she was top of the class in charms. And in each of her other classes, she was close to the top, and if she didn't understand the material she could just force James to tell her, as he was the top in every class. True, he could care less about the topics, but he did have a knack for magic.

Once Lily had gone back up to her dorm and had changed into proper attire for class, she headed to the Great Hall for some breakfast. It would be wonderful to eat something delicious, and great to see her friends.

When she got to her destination, she quickly saw the Marauders. The four boys were sitting closest to the door, not fifteen feet from where she was standing.

"Hello," Lily said with a bright smile on her face as she sat down next to James.

"Lily!" the four boys exclaimed at once.

"What are you doing here?" James asked with a worried look on his face.

"Jeez, it's great to see you too…Madame Lingwood let me leave this morning," Lily answered.

"I'm just surprised to see you," James said.

"Okay, whatever. I'm going to go say hi to Gracie and all them," Lily told James.

"Bye," he said before kissing her lightly on the cheek.

Once Lily left them, Sirius let out a huge sigh, and then said, "Damn that was close."

"She's going to know, I can just tell," James muttered aloud.

"Are we still doing it then, even though Lily is here?" Remus asked.

"We have to do it. I've been waiting for this moment ever since I woke up this morning," Sirius complained.

"I agree with Padfoot, it'll have way too many laughs to pass up," Peter added.

James looked at his friends. He didn't want to disappoint them by not going along with the rest of their prank, yet he didn't want to get in trouble with Lily.

Just then, as if making up James' mind for him, Roscoe Jamison and his four roommates entered the Great Hall. All of them had pink hair, and looked restless from escaping their beds. And when the students saw the pink hair, they all burst out laughing. It really was a shame that they hadn't been able to see the five boys wrestle with their beds.

"Let's do it," James said with a grin to his fellow Marauders.

Each of the boys smiled in return, thinking about how amusing this was going to be.

…

It wasn't until Defense Against the Dark Arts did the Gryffindors truly see their plan in action. For that was their first class shared with the Slytherins.

When Roscoe Jamison walked into class that day, James almost burst out laughing. Roscoe had humongous boils all over his face, looking quite hideous.

"Check it out, Padfoot," James muttered to his best friend.

Sirius looked up from the almost finished essay in front of him, and quickly went into a small fit of laughter.

And it truly was quite a sight. Roscoe Jamison wasn't unattractive at all, sweeping the Slytherin girls off of their feet. He was smart enough to pass all his classes with good marks, which was more than some of his fellow Slytherins could say. And he was captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team. So, to see him looking like this, even the Slytherins didn't want to be seen with him, for fear of catching what he may have gotten.

He had a mean look on his face, and shot a glare in the Marauders direction. And to their delight, another boil appeared on Roscoe's left cheek.

James just smiled, giving him a look that said 'we all know it was me, but there's no way to prove it.'

However, unnoticed by James, was Lily sitting only a few seats behind. She saw that look at once, knowing instantly that her boyfriend hadn't given up his old tactics. Her face became a bit fierce, wanting to yell at James, but knew it wasn't the proper moment.

A few moments later, Professor Keigwin walked into the classroom. He had a look on his face that said he was in no mood for jokes of any sort.

The lesson was actually fairly dull, nothing very exciting going on the class. They only discussed the reading and did a short presentation. Nothing compared to earlier classes when they were allowed to duel.

The only joy that the Marauders received was when a sudden boil would appear on Roscoe's pale skin. Of course, not all were visible to their eyes, but they could see Roscoe flinch every now and then, which the Marauders were sure, indicated a boil appearing.

When the class started coming toward an end, Professor Keigwin said, "Okay class, time to pass in those papers."

A huge groan could be heard throughout the entire room. But reluctantly, the students gathered up their essays to be passed forward.

"Lily, look at this," Zoë whined as she took her essay out. There were a few smudges of ink on it, and it was crumpled as well.

"What happened?" Lily whispered.

"I don't know. I was writing it, and then suddenly my ink bottle was levitated and fell on me. I tried to save the paper as best as I could, but it got a little crumpled and smudged in the process," she responded.

"Who did it?"

"That's the strange part," Zoë began as she passed her paper to the person in front of her, "Nobody was there except for a few kids across the room, and they were playing exploding snap. So they didn't' do it."

As Lily processed that information, her eyes started to squint a little. She knew who did it, the only people who owned an invisibility cloak.

… 

"James, can I talk to you?" Lily asked once she had noticed that James had finished eating his dinner.

He looked up to see the smiling face of the woman he adored, and simply got up to follow her.

She led him into an empty classroom, which surprised James quite a bit. He had missed Lily quite a bit, but certainly thought that they could wait to snog until a little later that night.

However, when Lily turned around to face him, her face was deadly, almost scary looking.

"What the fuck is your problem?" she asked while placing her hands on her hips.

"What are you talking about?"

"Where should I begin? The pink hair, the boils, Zoë's ink incident?" Lily asked.

James felt his face drop. He was caught.

"Why are you asking me?" he asked.

"Because you did it!" she exclaimed.

"Not all of it… and I have good reasons," he replied sweetly.

"Good reasons? There are NO good reasons for doing that, James."

"Yes there are," he argued.

Lily sighed, completely ignoring his last comment. "I thought you changed… I thought you were through with pranking. But then you go and do it to one of my best friends."

"No, that was Sirius," James said a she defended himself.

"Then why didn't you stop him? I know you used the invisibility cloak," she answered.

"I don't know…I'm sorry," he said weakly.

"Don't tell me that, tell that to Zoë," Lily snapped.

"Well, maybe if you had actually let me come see you in the hospital it never would have happened," James responded.

"James, I'm sorry, it's just that, I don't know," Lily began.

"Lils, you should have let me come see you," James told her with concerning eyes.

Lily felt like she could melt right there on the spot, just having him gaze at her like that. But then she remembered, she was mad at him. He was the one that went around doing harmful pranks on other students.

"James, don't change the goddamn subject! This isn't my fault, it's yours," Lily snapped.

"Mine? How can it be mine? You're the one that wouldn't let me in," he responded wisely.

"No. God, you always do this! You just change the subject to make me feel like the sorry one, but listen, it's not happening again. No matter what you say, I'm not giving in. You need to start acting like a man, not pranking everyone you see. Just because I'm out for a few days!" Lily yelled while throwing her hands up for emphasis.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry," he said.

"No you're not, you're just sorry you got caught," Lily answered bitterly.

"What do you want me to do? I said I was sorry," he yelled back. He too, was now starting to get angry.

"Sorry doesn't cut it, James. Ink all down Zoë! She told me she spent an hour in the shower trying to get it all off. And that paper, she worked for hours on that, and you just ruined it by making her crumple and smudge it when she tried to cover it. And as for Roscoe, just because he's an ass, doesn't give you the right to make boils appear on him!" Lily fiercely told him.

"Sirius did the prank on Zoë. And as for the fucking Jamison bastard, he deserved it. He was the one that made you mess up the potions, Lily. He was the one that put you in the Hospital Wing," James responded.

She looked madder than ever at that comment. "So, you just decided to get even with him?"

"Well, yes. He can't just do that to you and get away with it," James reasoned.

"And the thought that I can handle myself never came into that miniscule mind of yours?" Lily asked. Her face had a mixture of confusion and anger on it.

"Well, not that you couldn't do it, but I'm your boyfriend, it's my right to stand up for you," he replied.

"You are such a git!" Lily screamed. She couldn't' believe the words that came out of his mouth. Since when did he have that right? Ever since she had come to Hogwarts, she had made it perfectly clear that she didn't want nor need help with anything.

"What did I do?" he asked.

"I can take care of myself, James. I'm not some damsel in distress," she retorted.

He didn't say anything to that, just sent a glare in her direction.

"You know what, James?" she asked.

"What?" he spat out.

"Some things never change. You've never learned that I can take care of myself, and that I don't need you to do it for me. You haven't changed at all, always a prankster… Some things never change," she said.

He didn't say anything to that. She was right. He was a prankster, and always would be. Lily was just going to have to get used to it.

"We're over," she told him.

He stared dumbstruck at her. She couldn't break up with him, she just couldn't.

Lily stood there for a second, wanting to know how he would react to her decision.

"The door's that way," he said while pointing to his right.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Okay, I'm sorry it too so long for me to update! It's been a hectic first few days at school, already giving out tons of homework. Anyways, don't be mad that Lily and James broke up; nobody can have a picture perfect relationship, not even Lily and James. But I do hope that you guys liked chapter 31! And please review!


	32. Zaynah

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to judichild, Kirstie232, trashcan522, gatoriris, siriuszsecretlover, little-angel123452000, smay, milkywaypnay37, Denise, ilovecaptainjacks, alli8, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, MissMrprk, lOvEiNhEaVeN, RawBean, dancinquyn, moony128, Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot, ilovejamespotter, Wounded Angel, and Jessie xxx for reviewing! You guys are seriously the best in the entire world! I love you all!

ilovejamespotter: Hmm, maybe I'll name a new character Ellie, just for you. But that would be in the later chapters.

* * *

Lily couldn't believe what had just happened. It was over. She and James were over. And why were they over? Because she had overreacted to a stupid prank of his, and decided she didn't want to be with him.

Of course, she didn't except him to let her go without a fight. That just wasn't the typical James Potter. He had always been determined to get what he wanted, and once he got it, there was no letting go of it. But he did let her go; he even pointed her to the door.

Lily quickly made her way up to Gryffindor common room, all she wanted was to run up to her bed and cry. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

"Hey Lily," Sirius said when he saw her enter the room.

"Hi," she replied softly. She didn't want him to sense her hurt, she didn't want him to be able to see how upset she was.

"Where's Prongs?"

"How the bloody hell should I know?" she asked. Her voice was now determined as she bit back her emotions.

"Well, because you were just with him," Sirius pointed out.

"Yeah, well, I'm not anymore," Lily answered angrily.

"Jeez, woman, no need to act so huffy," Sirius said while jokingly putting his hands up in defense.

"We're over, Sirius. James and I broke up," Lily stated.

Sirius wore a confused look on his face. "What?"

"We broke up," she said slowly, as if talking to a two year old.

"Why?"

"What is this, the fucking inquisition?" Lily snapped before heading off to her room.

Sirius watched her leave, a stunned look upon his face. He couldn't believe that Lily and James were through with each other. After all, James was practically obsessed with Lily Evans. He just couldn't get enough of that red headed girl. And as for Lily, as far as he knew she loved him more than imaginable. The ex-couple had been laughing together and holding hands just a few days ago. It just didn't make any sense to Sirius.

…

James was still in that classroom, sitting on top of one of the desks. His head was resting in his hands, and although he would never admit it, his eyes were watering over the loss of Lily.

He stayed there for a long time; how long, he didn't know. His heart felt like it had broken into a thousand different pieces.

Then he heard it, the handle of the wooden door slowly turned, as if the person on the other side was unsure if they should enter. But when the door did open, brilliant light came into the solemn classroom.

A girl stood there; she had dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and stood at the tall height of five feet, nine inches. James recognized her immediately as Zaynah Atkins, a seventh year Hufflepuff student.

Zaynah was gorgeous; the typical dream girl type. Her features seemed to make her look innocent, although her reputation said otherwise. She was much like Sirius in the dating category; being with someone for a total of two weeks before calling it off. Of course, every guy knew it, so they were usually not too devastated when it ended.

"James, what are you doing here?" she asked once he came into view.

"Nothing," he answered.

Zaynah made her way over to him, sitting by his side. "It doesn't look like nothing."

James didn't respond for some time, just sat there in silence. The he asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Hiding from Steve," she answered with a smile.

"Why?"

"He's getting on my nerves," she answered coolly.

"Then why don't you just dump him?" James asked bitterly while thinking of Lily.

"Because, I made a bet with this girl in my dorm that I would make a relationship work for more than two weeks. So I have to wait for another three days for two weeks and one day to pass."

"How much did you bet?" James asked. He didn't know why he kept on asking questions, or even continued to talk with Zaynah, but somehow, it kept his mind off of Lily, which was exactly what he needed at that moment.

"Twenty galleons, and I only have ten, so I really need to win," she answered.

"Oh," he said.

They sat there for a few minutes of silence, and then James suddenly blurted out, "Lily and I broke up. That's why I'm in here."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Zaynah said with a sympathetic look on her face.

"Don't be… I messed up."

"Still, that's got to suck ass," she responded.

James found himself smiling, and said, "Yes, it does suck ass."

They talked for a bit longer, and James was surprised that Zaynah could actually hold up an intelligent conversation. He had always imagined her as some dumb bimbo, but in actuality, she was nothing of that sort. Zaynah had a presence about her that made James feel content, and smile while being with her. He could also tell her things; things that he was embarrassed to tell the Marauders, and things that would have made Lily blush right on the spot. In fact, Zaynah was practically as good as a listener as Scarlett was, whom James had always been talking to earlier in the year.

"Zaynah," yelled a voice from down the hall.

"Shit!" Zaynah whispered loudly.

James gave her a quizzical look, but didn't say anything.

"That's Steve," she complained.

"Oh, I guess I'll leave you to him then," James told her.

"No, you can't do that. I will not be left alone with him; he's just too, ewe," Zaynah said. Her tone then reminded James of Lily. It was the voice Lily would use in a frantic situation of being almost caught making out with him. And it made James smile at the memories.

"Okay, come one then," James said while grabbing Zaynah's hand and quickly pulling her out of the classroom.

James led her around the castle, just barely escaping from Steve's presence. In fact, without realizing it, James and Zaynah had found themselves in a peculiar place.

…

Lily was lying under her covers, pulling them up high above her head; hiding her from view. Tears were staining her pillow case, but she didn't' care. She wanted James by her side; holding her softly until she fell asleep. But that wouldn't happen, all because she had made the dumb mistake to break up with him.

"Lily, are you okay?" came the voice of Marissa. Apparently she had just entered the dorm room.

Lily didn't say anything.

"What's wrong?" Marissa asked as she sat down on Lily's bed.

Once again, she didn't answer.

"Did something bad happen to your family?" she asked.

There was no response.

"Are you pregnant?"

At that Lily sat straight up, daggers in her emerald eyes. "Of course not."

"Knew that would get you to talk to me," Marissa said with a faint smile.

"That's not funny," Lily muttered.

"What's wrong?"

Lily just sat with her head bent low, looking down at her hands. She wasn't sure if she wanted to tell Marissa about the break-up, but on the other hand, she didn't want Marissa to find out from James.

"I broke up with James."

"What?" Marissa asked with eyes wide open.

"It's over now, me and James aren't together anymore," Lily repeated.

"I'm sorry," she said sympathetically.

"Don't be… it was my choice," Lily said sadly.

"Then why are you on the verge of tears?"

"I don't know… I don't want to be with him, but I miss him," Lily admitted.

"Want to hear a fun way to get over guys, and have a good laugh?" Marissa asked.

"No."

"Yes you do," Marissa said with a smile.

"Okay, fine."

"Alright, now give me something that James gave you," Marissa ordered.

Lily's left hand immediately went to her right wrist, where a silver bracelet was. James shad given it to her for Valentine's Day that year. True it was a couple days late, but only because the dance was on February Fourteenth, and he wanted to give it to her in private.

"No, not for this. But later, if you want, throwing it into the lake will help," Marissa said with a grin. Lily could only imagine Marissa doing that to some poor guy. "Did he ever give you a stuffed animal?"

"Yeah, a teddy bear for Christmas," Lily answered.

"Where is it?"

"Right here," Lily answered while pulling it out from under her covers. She knew it was childish, but she slept with it every night, to remind her of James.

Once Marissa was done with it, the bear's head was replaced by the cocky grin of James Potter. He was looking so arrogant, as if he had just accomplished the best prank the school had ever seen.

"Okay, now take these darts, and throw it at the bear," Marissa ordered. In her hands were ten red darts, like the ones used for a muggle dart board.

"I can't do that," Lily said weakly.

"Okay, I'll go first then," Marissa said while picking one off and throwing it across the bed. It smacked the bear right in the stomach, pinching a whole through the middle.

She then handed Lily one of the darts, encouraging her to throw it.

Lily took in her hand, a bit of uncertainty in her movement. When it hit the bear in the forehead, which was presented as James' face, Lily felt a piece of joy come over her. It was as if she could finally let out all her anger toward everything he had ever done to her.

She grabbed another dart out of Marissa's hands and said, "This is for all those pranks that's ever done," and then threw at the bear, sending the dart straight through the bear's nose.

"This is for acting like a conceded little prat," Lily said as she threw another one.

"Good Lily, good! Take everything out on that bear," Marissa said with a voice full of excitement.

"This is for weaseling your way out of everything," Lily exclaimed while tossing another dart.

This continued on for quite sometime. For each dart thrown, Lily shouted at the bear, telling it why she now despised James Potter. Telling it everything he did that annoyed her. Telling it everything that he had ever done to upset her. And most of all telling it that she would never love James again, never allow herself love him again.

…

"Where do you think we are?" Zaynah asked while looking around. Her breathing was heavy from running around the castle.

"I don't know," James responded with equally deep breaths.

The room they were in was not like any classroom at Hogwarts. It had one large desk, with a chair that could recline behind it. There wasn't anything too special about the desk; no papers or quills, just a lamp on it.

"Wonder what's in it," Zaynah said aloud while pulling open one of the drawers. She pulled out a deck of cards and a bottle of fire whiskey.

"Whoever's this is, they sure do like to drink," James commented as he pulled open another drawer which held another bottle of fire whiskey.

"You want to play a game of cards?" Zaynah asked.

"Why not," James answered while plopping down on the floor.

Zaynah sat down next to him, bringing the bottle of fire whiskey with her. She opened the top and took a long drink from the bottle before dealing the cards.

James glanced over at the bottle. He knew he shouldn't drink any, he knew what happened when he drank alcohol. But it was sitting there, very tempting, so he reached over and let the liquid slide down his throat, allowing himself the pleasure of drinking away his problems.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Okay, so here's chapter 32! How'd you all like it? Please review and tell me!


	33. Two Can Play At That Game

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to little-angel123452000, Smay, reviewer, Brittany Potter, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, Denise, allie, hilary spicr, wounded-angel, banshee-kk, Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot, missmagsak, MissMrprk, hpandfriendsruletheworld, emmalily, lOvEiNhEaVeN, Harrys 1 Fan, Prongsie-Jamesie, siriuszsecretlover, Boy-Crazy Bookworm, Kimberly Grace, alli8, and RawBean for reviewing! You guys are the greatest!

Boy-Crazy Bookworm: Wow, way to give a girl an ego boost! Professional writer, ha! I wish! Hope my English teacher feels the same way; I've got a paper due in a couple days!

* * *

Lily had her hands cradling the back of her head as she looked up into the darkness above her. She was lying in her bed, trying her hardest to fall asleep, but she just couldn't. She tried counting sheep, reading, and even started to pull out an essay due in two weeks.

Nothing worked.

She kept on thinking back to James. All she could think of were those four words he had said to her last, 'the door's that way.' Lily didn't know why it was bothering her so much. True, it was probably the rudest thing he had ever said to her, but she didn't care for him anymore, so why was it affecting her?

Lily shrugged it off as she pulled back the warmth from her blankets. She got up and quickly pulled a fleece bathrobe over her long pajamas. What Lily needed, was to get away form her room. She needed a place where she could relax without worrying if she was waking up her roommates. So, Lily decided the best place for that would be the kitchens.

As she crept out of the room, and down the stairs, she was surprised to see an empty common room. It just didn't look right; without the masses of people to fill the place. There were no students doing homework, or anyone playing a friendly game of wizards chess. Her surroundings were somewhat spooky; being alone in such a great room.

Lily went through the portrait as soon as her feet would allow it, and was quite surprised to find people at the other side of it, waiting for entrance.

"Who's there?" Lily asked sternly, for she couldn't make out the faces of the two people before her.

"It's Zaynah, and James," came Zaynah's voice.

Lily's eyes opened wide; what could James be doing with a slut like her? "What do you want?"

"I need to take James to his room, or have someone else do it for me," Zaynah answered.

"Why, your room's not good enough for you?" Lily asked bitterly.

"He's fucking drunk off his ass," Zaynah snapped. Lily could feel the death glares penetrating toward her, only imagining the looks Zaynah must be sending her.

"Probably thanks to you," Lily muttered.

"Watch it Evans," Zaynah warned with a tense attitude.

Lily was silent for a moment, and then said, "Well, I can handle this from here. Go back to your own dorm."

"I want to make sure he's alright," Zaynah quickly remarked.

Lily rolled her eyes, and then snapped, "Don't you think you've had enough fun for one night?"

Although Lily couldn't see it, she knew that Zaynah's eyes were fierce. She had touched a nerve, making Zaynah furious with anger.

"We didn't do anything, if that's what you're asking," Zaynah told her.

Lily didn't reply to Zaynah's comment, but instead levitated James off of the ground and into the still open portrait. Once she was back inside the common room, Lily gently placed her ex onto one of the long couches. She stood over him for a moment, just looking down at his features.

"Lily?" he slurred.

She jumped back in shock, not realizing that he was still awake. "What?"

"You are very pretty," he told her.

"And you are very drunk," she responded.

"That I am, but I still know that I love you, even if you don't love me anymore," he responded.

"Stop saying things like that," Lily snapped. She didn't want to hear that from him, she didn't need it at the moment.

"Zaynah's nice," he simply said after a few seconds had passed.

Lily could feel her heart skip a beat, and her entire body froze up. She didn't know why the mention of Zaynah's name would do this; she didn't know why the mention of her name from James' lips would do this.

"I told her that you were mean to me, and she listened to me. She likes me, and I like her…We're good friends," James said while slurring his words almost to a standard of not being able to understand him.

Lily stared at him intently, wanting to know what he would say next. Truth be told, she wanted to know what James and Zaynah had done together. She hadn't believed what Zaynah had told her, and wanted to hear James, himself, say nothing had occurred between the two.

Unfortunately though, Lily wasn't able to hear anymore. James had finally drifted off into a deep slumber, and probably wouldn't wake for hours and hours to come.

…

James awoke to an awful smell that morning, which truly wasn't helping the throbbing he felt in his head.

"Drink this," Remus ordered while shoving a cup in James' direction.

"What is it?" James asked while rubbing his head.

"A potion so that you won't feel or look like you were pissed as hell last night," Remus responded.

James took the cup, and after looking at it for a few more seconds he downed the potion in one gulp. Immediately, James felt as if he was going to be sick. The potion tasted like year old sour milk.

"Feel better now?" Peter asked while glancing at his fellow Marauder.

"That tastes like shit," James mumbled.

"I'm sure it does, which will be reason not to get drunk again," Remus remarked.

"What happened anyways? Lily came up to the dorm late last night and said that you were passed out and drunk on the couch, and we had better come down and get you," Peter told his friend.

James let out a slight groan. His memory was coming back to him immediately. And the mention of Lily's name only brought back why he had gotten so drunk in the first place.

"I'd rather not talk about it," James responded after thinking for quite some time.

"Understandable, but I must add, Lily sure looked pretty damn mad," Remus told his friend.

James gave him a quizzical look, as if to prod him to continue.

"She was muttering something among the lines of 'if it weren't for that slut nothing would have happened'," Remus answered.

"Zaynah?" James asked allowed.

"What about Zaynah?" Peter inquired.

"I was with her last night," James responded.

"Zaynah, wow Prongs, I'm impressed," Remus said with a grin.

"No, you fucking idiot. I didn't sleep with her, and neither of us was planning on it either. We're just friends," James answered.

…

"Would you look at them?" Lily asked while glancing over at the Marauders. Zaynah was sitting with them that morning, instead of at her usual table.

"Who are we looking at?" Scarlett asked.

"Marauders," Lily answered.

"Hmm, interesting… Why is Zaynah sitting with them?" Scarlett asked.

"Probably because she's fucking James," Lily casually replied.

"What?" Scarlett asked. She nearly spat her food at Lily from the shock.

"Yeah, I saw them hanging around each other last night, so I just figured," Lily responded.

"No, he wouldn't do that. Not after you guys just broke up," Scarlett reasoned.

"I bet he would," Lily said while shooting death glares down the table.

…

"James, what's wrong?" Zaynah asked.

"Nothing, just, look at her," he answered while glances over in Lily's direction. "I mean, she's acting like I was nothing to her. You know, sitting there looking perfect, just like she always does."

"Cheer up," Zaynah sympathetically told him.

"I can't," he whined.

"Yes you can, just imagine what your life was like before you started to date her," Zaynah suggested.

"I was head over heels in love with her," James mumbled.

"No, I said think about times before her," she said.

"There was no time before her… Ever since the end of fourth year I thought she was the most beautiful, nicest, smartest, perfect person in the world," he confessed.

She gave him a caring look before saying, "Well, you know what they say: it's better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all."

"You're not helping," James replied grumpily.

…

"See, look at that, they are so flirting," Lily announced to Scarlett.

"No, they're not. They're just talking," Scarlett told her.

"Yes they are. That is definite flirting action going on," Lily responded.

Scarlett just couldn't see what Lily had been talking about. In fact, it looked just the opposite from what Lily had been trying to say. James looked absolutely miserable. And it appeared that Zaynah was only trying to help him out.

"But you know what?"

"What?" Scarlett asked.

"Two can play at that game."

Scarlett gave her friend a questioning look, and asked, "What are you going to do?"

"Well, I figure I'll just get a new boyfriend. You know, replace him just like he replaced me. See how he likes it, and when he gets jealous, he'll come running back to me. But I'll just shoo him away, and tell him it's his problem, not mine," Lily said with a determined look in her eyes.

"I'm not so sure that it's a great idea," Scarlett warned.

"Well, I think it is, and that's all that matters," Lily replied.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Hey everyone, I want to apologize for not updating in what seems like forever! I do have a good excuse though, it being I've had a lot of school work, and I've been sick for the past few days. Actually, I'm still sick now, but I decided to update this anyways. It's not cool though, because this chapter took me like days to write because I was so preoccupied, and they usually take me an hour to write, and then the next day I go in a edit and post them! Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter! And I can only imagine the reviews that I'm going to get saying that Lily is so stupid in this chapter, and so mean!

Reviewer: I didn't want to put this in the beginning because it would ruin the chapter, but seriously, do you think I would actually make James kiss another girl? If he did, Lily would never ever forgive him. And then there would be no Harry Potter, which would lead to me never writing this story.


	34. Girl's Night

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to cilverblood, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, xxxMs.Mexxx, MissMrprk, gatoriris, siriuszsecretlover, Boy-Crazy Bookworm, Jessie xxx, marauderyears, Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot, ilovecaptainjacks, little-angel123452000, RawBean, KC's-Diamond, Prongsie-Jamesie, and Denise for reviewing! I love you guys more than words can describe!

Note: This takes place about a week after the last chapter.

* * *

"Why the long face?" Gracie asked.

Lily had just slumped into one of the comfy, red chairs in the common room, and she didn't look pleased at all. She had a sour look upon her normally pleasant face, and her arms were crossed tightly across her chest.

"Boys are so annoying," Lily bitterly answered.

"What happened?" Zoë asked.

"None of them will go out with me," Lily complained loudly.

"Oh, poor you," Gracie mocked.

"I'm serious, and how am I supposed to make James jealous if I can't even get a stupid boyfriend?"

"Why do you even want to make him jealous? I mean, just tell him that you're still madly in love with him, and he'll come running back," Zoë logically said.

"I'm not in love with him…I don't even like him. I just want to make him jealous, and prove that I've moved on," Lily answered.

They sat there in silence for some time, none of the girls knowing what to say next. Of course, both Zoë and Gracie wanted to tell Lily that she was being a fool. They wanted to scream at her for breaking both James' and her own heart. And, they wanted to shove her and James together until they worked out their problems. In fact, all they wanted was for Lily to be happy again. And that wouldn't happen until she and James were back together. Both girls could sense it.

"I know it!" Lily shrieked. "I just have to dress more provocative, and then all the guys will be after me." With that said, Lily hoped off of the chair and ran up to her dormitory.

"My God, she's off her rocker," Gracie miserably said while placing her hands on her cheeks.

"Tell me about it," Zoë answered sarcastically.

…

"Look at her," James complained to his friends. The Marauders, minus Sirius, were seated in the Great Hall, still polishing off their apple pie.

"Don't pay any attention to her, mate," Remus said without even looking up. He knew that just about every word that came out of James' mouth was about Lily.

"How can I not pay any attention? She's off gallivanting around all those guys from Hufflepuff."

"Just don't look at her, its making you more upset," Peter told his friend.

"But look at her smile…It's so perfect. And she's smiling at them! And she's flirting with them! And would you look at that shirt? She shouldn't be able to wear that shirt, no one but me should be able to see what's being seen," James exclaimed.

"You're not dating anymore, she can do whatever the bloody hell she wants," Remus said while looking up at the red head across the room.

"If you're trying to help, you're failing miserably," James told his friend.

"I know, sorry," he responded.

Just then Sirius Black came running into the Great Hall. He had a gigantic smile on his face; as if he had just won a billion galleons.

"What's up with you, mate?" Sirius asked once he saw James' facial expression.

"Lily," Peter answered for James.

"Oh, well, cheer up, I've got exciting news," Sirius told the group. His eyes were wide with enthusiasm, and his gigantic smile told the group that either a prank or an adventure was what Sirius had been so happy about.

"Well, are you going to tell us or not?" Remus asked after a moment of silence went by.

"Oh, right. I just heard that Dumbledore will be out of town this weekend."

"Your point?" James asked.

"It'll be the perfect time to sneak into his office!"

"Why would we do that?" Remus asked with a look of confusion on his face. Identical looks were on the faces of Peter and James as well.

Sirius's eyes went wide when he realized what was happening. "Have you lot lost your mind? Don't you remember what Prongs found out while finding out the Slytherin password?"

"Um, what?" Peter asked.

"The meeting that Dumbledore and McGonagall were talking about! You know, the one to fight against you-know-who! Remember, we were going to sneak into the office to find out what was happening," Sirius told the group.

"Oh, right, forgot about that one," Peter said with a smile.

"Yeah, it's going to be great," Sirius told the group with a smirk.

…

Lily sat on top of her bed that night, depressed at the results from her search. Not a single guy was attracted to her in a more than friendly way, well, at least not any guy worth dating. There were a few guys that were so revolting Lily could imagine herself throwing up if they tried to kiss her.

"I am a failure at life," she complained to her dorm mates.

"No you're not, Lils," Marissa said.

"Don't call me that," Lily snapped.

"What? Lils?"

"James was the only one who ever called me that," Lily told the group.

"Sorry," Marissa said. "But you're still not a failure at life."

"Yes I am, I can't even get a boyfriend."

"You're trying way too hard…Besides, you had James for a while, and that definitely doesn't say 'failure' to me," Marissa told her with a smile.

"Well, it's over now, and that says, 'failure' to me," answered Lily.

Marissa only rolled her eyes at that comment, not knowing anything smart and witty to say to that.

After a few moments, Scarlett looked up from her magazine and asked, "Know what?"

"What" came the chorus of girls.

"We haven't had a good 'girl's night' in a real long time. So how about tonight we have one?"

"I like the way you think," Gracie answered with a huge grin on her face.

"Why thank you, so do I," Scarlett answered sweetly.

In no time at all, the five friends were ready for their night. Zoë had snuck down into the kitchens for some tasty snacks, everyone changed into pajamas, and the fun was about to begin.

"Okay, how about we play a game," Gracie suggested.

"Like what?"

"How about 'Never have I ever'" she asked.

"No," cried out Marissa. She simply hated playing that game, because each time she lost miserably. For it was a game of innocence, and she was nothing of that sort. The game went like this: everyone started out with ten fingers in the air, and the first person would say 'Never have I ever…cheated on anyone,' and everyone who had cheated on someone would put down a finger. The person with the fingers up the longest would win the game.

"Oh, come on, Marissa," Zoë whined.

"Fine, but I start first," she answered. "Okay, never have I ever dated anyone younger than me."

Blushing furiously, Gracie put down one finger. The others laughed as they recalled fourth year when Gracie started to like a third year Ravenclaw. The two of them had dated for two weeks before she realized how pathetic he was and dumped him.

"Okay, my turn," Scarlett told the group. "Never have I ever gotten drunk."

"Not fair," Lily whined as she, Marissa, Zoë, and Gracie each put their fingers down. The one time Lily had had gotten terribly drunk, was the one time that Scarlett had not come with the girls to a club. When there, each of the girls had a few too many drinks. None of them could see straight, and heading back to Gracie's house had been a nightmare. They ended up having a complete stranger write an owl to Scarlett to come help them.

"Okay, never have I ever had sex," Lily said while glaring at Scarlett.

And to Lily's surprise, not only Marissa and Scarlett put a finger down, but one of Zoë's went down as well.

"Zoë, care to explain?" Lily asked.

"Not really," she replied sweetly before saying, "Never have I ever made out with a Marauder."

This time Lily's face went sour, but she obediently put a finger down. She was regretting playing this game now, figuring that her friends would say everything related to the Marauders.

As the game progressed, Marissa, as she predicted, was the first to lose the game. But quickly following her was Scarlett, and the Lily, and then Zoë, leaving Gracie as the winner of the game.

"Man, I just love playing that game," Gracie said with a smile.

"Only because you never lose," Marissa retorted.

"Not true, Lily used to beat me. Until James came into her life, that is," she answered with a smirk in Lily's direction.

"Shut up," Lily snapped.

"Okay, new game!" Zoë said excitedly. She had just finished her fourth can of soda and was now on a fairly large sugar high.

"Like what?"

"How about truth or dare?" Scarlett suggested.

"No, last time we played, the results weren't too pretty," Lily said while thinking back to the incident on the train. Learning that Marissa and James had 'hooked up' once didn't make her very pleased at all. But then again, she wasn't dating James at the moment, so there was nothing to worry about, right?

"Actually, we can play," Lily said.

"Great, I go first!" Zoë told the group. "Scarlett, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Okay, go up to the boy's dorm, and sing and dance for them."

"That's so retarded," Scarlett told her, but got up off of her bed and headed up the door.

"There's no way she'll actually do it," Lily commented.

"Yes she will," Gracie answered.

"How do you know?"

"Because, if not she'll have a bad case of acne until she actually does it." Gracie responded. She saw a look of confusion on Lily's face, and added, "Its witch's truth or dare. That's what happens if you don't do a dare or tell the truth; you get a bad case of acne until you do it, or tell the truth."

Just then Scarlett came back in the room laughing. "That was awful Sutton, you'll pay for that."

"Fine, show me what you got then," Zoë challenged.

"I will," Scarlett remarked, "truth or dare."

"Dare," Zoë automatically responded.

"Okay, go down to the common room and ask Eddy Madison for a massage."

Zoë shot her a death glare, but went out the door anyways. Of course, just hearing the dare doesn't sound too awful at all, unless you know Eddy Madison. Eddy is fifth year in Gryffindor, and absolutely repulsive. For one, he thinks he is such a cool guy, but in reality no one likes him. He's one of the school's biggest perverts, even resorting to hiding under the benches to look up girl's skirts. And thirdly, he's not even remotely attractive. His hair is blonde and greasy, looking like he never showers. He has a face full of zits, big black glasses, and a mouth full of braces. Basically, the ideal geek.

Once Zoë returned, she had a look of disgust on her face. "Scarlett, you are awful. He wouldn't stop, I had to physically get his hands off of me."

"Physically?" Gracie asked with a grin.

"Shut up, you are so gross," Zoë whined while holding back a laugh.

After that dare, Zoë dared Scarlett again, who in turn dared Zoë again. In fact, it was like the two of them were the only ones playing the game at all. No one else was getting the chance to play, because Zoë and Scarlett always wanted to get each other back for the dares they had just had to do.

"Okay, enough, there are others in the room," Gracie finally said after thirty minutes of sitting there.

"Oh, right," Scarlett said once she realized what had been occurring. "Zoë, this isn't over, I'll get you next time…Lily, truth or dare?"

"Um, truth," she answered weakly.

"Do you still love James?" Scarlett asked. Her eyes were focused on Lily's green orbs, and her voice was calm.

The room went silent while they waited for Lily's answer.

"N-no," she stammered.

Suddenly, as if right on cue, a big, red pimple appeared on her nose. And rapidly more started to break out onto her pale skin.

"You do! I knew it," Gracie said as she tossed a mirror in Lily's direction.

Lily instantly caught the mirror and held up to her face. She almost screamed at what she saw. "But, but I don't love him," she said while her eyes began to tear up.

"Then why is that happening?" Gracie asked as she pointed to Lily's face, which had broken out even more after the lie was said once more.

"I can't love him though," Lily told the group while placing her hands over her face.

"Lily Marie Evans, you love James Potter," Scarlett said with a grin as she got up to walk over to Lily's seat.

She didn't respond to that, only sat where she was.

"Lily, you're allowed to love him, you know. And if you just go out with him you'll be happy again," Scarlett told her.

"You're wrong," Lily said while looking up at her friends.

"If we're wrong, than how come your face looks like this?" Marissa asked.

"Fine, fine, you're all right. I love James Potter. I love him!"

Once the words left her lips, Lily's face returned to its usual complexion. The faces of her friends were those of smiles and expressions that said, "I knew it!" Most of all, Lily felt her heart become free. She had finally admitted it to herself that she still loved James, and that she would always be in love with James.

"I knew it, I knew you still cared about him," Scarlett said as she wrapped her arms around her friend.

Lily laughed as she was surrounded by the hugs of her friends, all of them joyful for the realization.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Hope you all liked chapter 34! Sorry I haven't been able to update in forever, school's a bitch sometimes! Anyways, I hope you guys all liked that chapter, and please review.


	35. Dumbledore's Office

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to cilverblood, ilovecaptainjacks, little-angel123452000, milkywaypnay37, siriuszsecretlover, gatoriris, Boy-Crazy Bookworm, KC's-Diamond, Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, lOvEiNhEaVeN, miss-mags-ak, MissMrprk, alli8, Smay, Prongsie-Jamesie, Denise, Lyny Angell, alli88, and RawBean for reviewing! You guys are awesome!

RawBean: Sure you can use the idea! I actually thought of it because of Book 5, when Hermione had the coins and put the spell on it!

* * *

Lily stood in front of the full length mirror near her bed. She was wearing a white turtle-neck sweater with tight blue jeans. Her green eyes were vibrant against her white face, the only color other than slightly rosy cheeks. Her hair was curled and loosely pulled into low pigtails.

She looked in the mirror and then said aloud, "James, there's something I need to talk to you about…Well, you see, I still love you."

She screwed up her face a bit and shook her head no. "No, that just sounds stupid."

She then pushed a few escaped strands of crimson hair away from her face and began again, "James, I'm really sorry. I don't know why I broke up with you, because I still love you. I love you more than words could ever explain."

Lily let out a sigh of frustration; nothing she said seemed to work. It all made her sound dumb, and didn't sound right at all. With another try, she looked into the mirror, fidgeted her hands around and said, "James, I miss you. I don't know what possessed me to do that, because I ended up hurting myself over the loss of you. I guess I never realized how much you meant to me until it was too late. And, well, I don't blame you if you don't forgive me, but if you could find it in your heart to do so…I love you."

"Aw, how sweet," Gracie said as she came into the room.

Lily snapped her head around at the sound of her friend's voice. Her eyes were wide, and her cheeks even more flushed than before. She hadn't wanted anymore to hear her rehearsing what she would say to James.

"Gracie, shut up," Lily snapped.

"What? All I said was that it was sweet. And let me tell you, with words like that James will come running over to you, sweep you off your feet, and lay the biggest kiss on you," Gracie responded with slight giggle.

"Stop," Lily whined, although secretly she would be thrilled if Gracie's prediction was true. She wanted James to wrap his arms around her petite body, and hold her tightly against him. In fact, she never wanted him to let go. She just wanted to have the two of them together forever.

"Okay, now that you've practiced your speech, go say it to lover-boy," Gracie said with a smirk.

"Shut up, I wasn't practicing," Lily replied, although her bright red cheeks said otherwise.

"Ha, you can't even stop blushing," Gracie teased as the two girls made their way down the stairs toward the common room.

"No," Lily muttered while holding back a smile.

"Yes, and just for the fun of it," Gracie said, and then switched her voice to do the impersonation of Lily, "Oh, James, I just can't live without you. I need you so much, I'm so sorry for breaking up with you. Will you ever forgive me?"

"Shut up," Lily told her friend while trying to cover her face with her own hands.

Gracie, however decided to ignore the comment, and said in a deep, masculine voice, "Oh, Lily, I'm so glad to hear what you're saying. I was beside myself having to live without you."

"Gracie," Lily whined while holding back her laughter.

"Oh, James, I've never been so excited in my life!" Gracie said while switching over to impersonating Lily's voice.

"I wouldn't say that," Lily said while flashing a huge smile.

"Oh, right, you'd be more like, 'Great, kiss me now!'" and with that said, Gracie turned to face the wall, wrapped her own arms around her self, and started to pretend to kiss someone. Seeing that only made Lily laugh even harder, and Gracie ended up turning around to laugh as well.

The laughter finally stopped after several moments, and the two girls made their way to the Great Hall to look for James.

"Where is he?" Lily asked as her eyes searched the Gryffindor table.

"Maybe he already ate," Gracie suggested.

"Maybe…But he wasn't in the common room either. So where is he?" Lily asked.

"Is he in his room?"

"No, he doesn't go up there too often. Usually only to sleep, and make plans with the Marauders. But they do that at night, when they won't be disturbed," Lily automatically replied.

"Wow."

"What?"

"You sure know a lot about James," Gracie commented.

"Well, being with him so much does that to a girl," Lily responded with a smile forming at her cherry colored lips.

"How about we ask Zaynah," Gracie suggested.

With that said, Lily snapped back into reality, forced to stop thinking about James. Just then mention of Zaynah's name made Lily want to scream. In fact, the mention of her name made Lily's hopes and dreams of being with James come to a swift halt. True, James and Zaynah weren't dating, but they spent so much time together. And Lily was sure that all they did was flirt with each other, especially Zaynah, whom she didn't trust at all.

"Why would I ever want to talk to her?" Lily questioned, daggers burning in her vibrant eyes.

Gracie shifted uncomfortably a little bit before responding, "Well, she and James are friends, so she might know where he is."

Lily didn't say anything, but headed over to the table that Zaynah was currently sitting at. It appeared that she was writing a letter to someone, probably a family member at home.

As Lily approached her, Zaynah looked up to meet her eyes, and asked, "What do you want?"

"Do you know where James is?" Lily asked.

"Why do you care?"

"I need to talk to him, it's important," Lily responded.

"What, going to be mean and nasty to him again?" Zaynah asked. Her eyes were narrowed and looked fierce. She had a smug look on her face, as if she had just won a battle of wits.

Lily clenched her hands into small balls, making her nails pierce her delicate skin. Her face showed no emotion other than hatred toward the girl in front of her, and she responded, "It doesn't concern you."

"Then maybe his whereabouts don't concern you," Zaynah remarked.

"And they concern you?" Lily asked while raising her eyebrows in disbelief.

"As I am close to him, yes they do," she responded.

Lily's eyes bulged out in annoyance as she held back her tongue from saying sour words. "Never mind then."

Once Lily turned her back, Zaynah muttered, "Don't even try it, bitch."

Lily froze once she heard the words, and quickly turned to face her enemy. "Try what?"

"Don't break his heart," Zaynah said as she got to her feet.

"Don't make me break your face," Lily angry replied.

Zaynah came closer to Lily, and whispered, "at least I've got the guy." She then walked passed Lily, leaving her at a loss for words.

"How can he stand her?" Lily yelled in frustration.

"Don't let her get to you," Gracie advised.

…

"What the fuck could the password be?" Remus hissed. He, James, Sirius, and Peter (in rat form) were underneath the invisibility cloak, standing outside of Dumbledore's office.

"Shut up, Moony, someone will hear you," James whispered.

As if on cue, Zaynah was strolling by the office. She had a smile on her face, and occasionally let out a chuckle. She was muttering something as well, but the Marauders couldn't quite make out what she was saying. All they knew was that it had something to do about 'showing her up.'

Once Zaynah had passed them, Sirius muttered, "Well, that was a close one…Now what the fuck is the stupid password?"

"I don't know," Remus replied, "What's the kind of things he likes?"

"Hmm, pastry puffs," James whispered to the gargoyle statue. Nothing happened. "Chocolate…pies…roast turkey." Nothing happened.

"What makes you so sure it's a food?" Sirius asked.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Good point…chocolate éclair…ice cream…strawberry shortcake," Sirius said to the statue. Once again, nothing happened.

"Apple tart….cameral…peppermint patty," James tried, but once again, the statue didn't' budge.

"Okay, let me try," Remus told the group, "Root beer float…Hershey's kiss…lemon" However, Remus didn't' have to go any further with his guesses. It seemed that Hershey's kiss did the trick.

A spiral staircase started to appear, and the Marauders instantly jumped onto it. As the started to ascend, they were amazed at what was to be seen. The room was vibrant, with shades of red and gold covering the office. There was a gigantic desk in the center, with a large cushioned chair behind it. Off to the side was a velvet couch, able to seat four grown men comfortably. There was also a wooden chair off to the other side, which the Marauders presumed was pulled up opposite of Dumbledore's when he had meetings. What intrigued them most however, were the objects on the bookshelf. There was a glass ball, which James guessed was a pensieve, holding all of Dumbledore's memories. Near it were books, letters, and tons of other supplies. There was even a telescope placed nearby, which James found himself leaning towards, wanting to find out what it did. The sorting hat was also visible, as well as a beautifully colored bird. Portraits lined the walls as well, and James recognized them as previous Headmasters of Hogwarts.

"What do you suppose this does?" James asked as he held up the telescope. The decorations on it were spectacular. The background color was black, and it had silver engravings all over it, making it look very oriental.

"No clue," Peter responded once he transformed back into his human shape.

Curiosity getting the better of him, he held the small object to his right eye. Inside was an imagine of himself. He was smiling broadly, with a woman with vibrant red hair and bright green eyes next to him; Lily. They were seated in the common room, right next to the fire. He had his arm slung around her shoulder, and her head rested on his shoulder. She whispered something into his ear, which made him smile and lay a kiss on the top of her head.

"What is it?" Remus asked.

James immediately looked up, and replied, "Not sure."

"What did you see?" Peter asked.

"Lily," James replied. "I saw me with her."

"Let me have a look," Sirius said while grabbing the telescope out of James's hands. He peered into the tiny telescope and smiled at what he saw. In the small looking glass were four friends running wild; Padfoot, Prongs, Moony, and Wormtail. The shadows of the animals were draped high onto the road in Hogsmeade village. He, Padfoot, let out a bark of happiness as they continued on their journey.

"What do you see?" Remus asked as he took a step closer to his friend.

"Us, running around Hogsmeade," he replied.

"Hmm, let me have a look," Remus told his friend. When looking into the telescope, Remus saw himself, only years younger. He was sitting at the kitchen counter at home, just casually reading a book. His complexion was pale, and Remus guessed it was right after a full moon. An owl suddenly swooped in through the window, letting a letter fall onto his lap. It was the letter from Hogwarts, inviting him to join the school for his first year at Hogwarts.

"What'd you see, Moony?" James asked.

"Me, when I was eleven. I just got my Hogwarts letter," he replied.

"My turn," Peter anxiously said while taking the telescope from Remus. Peter smiled at the memory he was seeing. It was of a prank that the Marauders had accomplished in sixth year. It was one of their best pranks ever pulled, and Peter had been doing most of the work. He was in his rat form, causing the Slytherins hell for the day. Once finishing the prank up, his fellow Marauders were cheering for him, and giving him pats on the back.

"What about you, Wormtail?" Remus asked.

"Oh, just a prank that we pulled," Peter casually answered.

"Hmm, it could be anything," Remus commented. "We should look it up sometime."

"Have fun that," Sirius joked.

"Okay, guys, we're on a mission here. We need to find out about that Meeting thing," James reminded his friends.

With that said each of the boys started to snoop around the office, coming up with several interesting items. However, none of them seemed to show any sort of information about the fight against You-know-who.

"This is hopeless, we'll never find anything," Peter complained.

"Yeah, I hate to admit it, but we've been looking around for nearly an hour and we still haven't found anything," Remus told the group.

"Come on, we can't just give up…I'm sure that there's something around here," James said while searching Dumbledore's desk.

"I don't know, Prongs, I think Moony and Wormtail are right," Sirius told his friend.

After checking each drawer in the desk, James said, "Okay, maybe you're right. Maybe there's nothing here at all…But since we're up here, we might as well have a little fun."

"What do you mean?" Remus curiously asked.

"Well, why not have a bit of fun with all this cool stuff that Dumbledore's got up here. I mean, this pensieve is practically begging us to look at it," James said with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

And so they did look at it. They looked into Dumbledore's past and were surprised at what they saw. There wasn't a happy memory to be seen, only sad ones. Most were at trials, watching accused Voldermort supporters get sentenced to lifetime in Azkaban Prison. Some however were even worse. Dumbledore had to tell families that their husbands, wives, or even children were murdered in the fight against the Dark Lord. Truth be told, James could understand perfectly why Dumbledore had chosen to place these memories in the pensieve. Too many bad memories could make even the most cheerful person in the world crash and burn easily.

"Wow," was all James could muster up to say after looking into the memories.

"Yeah, I never knew how tough the guy's life really was," Sirius commented.

Just then, the four boys heard the staircase start to move. Someone was coming! They rushed to get under the cloak, Peter having to turn into his rat form.

"What was so important that we had to discuss events in Dumbledore's private office?" Professor McGonagall asked the tall man that stood by her side.

"It's about the Order," the man said. His voice was strong, sounding fearless.

"What is it? Did something happen?" McGonagall asked. Her voice was full of worry. The last thing she needed happening was for something to go wring with the Order, with Dumbledore being away and all.

"I was spying on the Death Eaters again, and saw someone who shouldn't have been there. At least, I'm assuming he shouldn't have been there," the man said.

"Who was it?"

"Gregory Burns," the stranger said.

"No, he shouldn't be there. He isn't a spy," McGonagall announced.

"That's why I came here. I think he may be a spy for You-know-who. I think he was at the Order to find out how much we know."

"Oh goodness…This is awful," McGonagall told the man. "We don't even know who we can trust anymore."

"That's not all though. I heard stuff when I was there. His new plan is to scare the wizarding community by even more murders. Except these ones aren't on the muggle-born. They want to attack the pure-blood families that won't join the Dark Lord."

James could feel his face go white. His parents suddenly came into his mind. They were very strongly against Lord Voldermort. In fact, they would do anything to get rid of him, even if it risked their own lives.

"Oh my," McGonagall said. "We have to tell Dumbledore immediately. We need to warn the families, especially those in the order. If there are spies, then they have most certainly told You-know-who of who's in the Order."

"Alright, you go write to Dumbledore. Tell him it's urgent and explain everything that I've told you. I'm off for more undercover work. I heard that there's a meeting near Gingdon's Hill tonight, I'll see what else I can find out."

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**Author's Note 2:** Okay, here's chapter 35! I was actually really excited to write this one! Oh, and so sorry about the lack of review this past week. In my other story, I put up an author's note for a chapter, and fanfiction found out and they locked my account. This meant that I couldn't add a new chapter until today, which was really sucky because this one was ready since Friday! Anyways, I hope you guys all like it, and please review!


	36. Zaynah's Plan

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to milkywaypnay37, justdreem, ilovecaptainjacks, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, RawBean, Chrissy8887779999, KC's Diamond, Prongsie-Jamesie, lOvEiNhEaVeN, Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot, siriuszsecretlover, miss-mags-ak, Mrs-Anita -Radcliffe, and Smay for reviewing! I really appreciate it!

* * *

"Okay, I'm going to do it," Lily announced to her four best friends during lunch that day.

"Do what?" Gracie asked.

"I'm going to go up to James today and tell him that I still like him," she replied with a smile on her face.

"Well it's about time," Marissa said while buttering a roll.

"Yeah, it's been almost a week and half since you found out that you still liked him," Zoë added. "And I for one have gotten quite bored of hearing you complain about how much you like him, so just do it already."

"I don't complain," Lily sharply answered.

"Yes you do…You mumble and groan about how you think he'll never like you again," Zoë countered.

"Shut up," Lily joked.

"When are you going to tell him anyways?" Scarlett asked.

"I don't know, sometime tonight…You know, I'll ask him if I could talk to him, and then he'll say yes. And after that we'll go outside or somewhere like that to talk, and I'll explain everything," Lily answered.

"Wow, you've had a lot of time to plan that one," Zoë joked.

As the five girls talked and laughed during lunch, none realized that their conversation was heard by none other than Zaynah. Needless to say, she wasn't pleased with the fact that Lily and James would soon be getting back together. She didn't like Lily, never had and never would. She thought James deserved much better than her. That's when her little mind went into a planning stage…

…

James grabbed his broom from the Gryffindor quidditch team locker room and headed out toward the pitch. He hadn't called a practice, but wanted to fly by himself. He wanted to feel the sharp wind across his face, the thrill of diving to catch a ball, and most of all the freedom away form Hogwarts.

Flying was the one thing he could do to clear his mind from everything in the world. When he was up high on the broom he forgot about Lily, forgot about how much he missed her and loved her. He forgot the pain that she put him through when calling their relationship off, and he disregarded how much he longed to be with her, holding her tight in his arms, as if to never let her go again.

His mind was cleared from the information he found out in Dumbledore's office, about the Order. The thoughts of Voldermort attacking the pure-bloods was erased form his mind. The fact that his parents and others could easily be murdered was gone while he was flying.

Nothing important mattered to him while up in the air. Only his broom at his fingertips and the fierce wind blowing his hair out of his face were in his thoughts. It was the way he wanted things; he wanted to escape form the world at times. He wanted to get away from the pain, broken hearts, and stress of being a seventeen year old boy.

What he loved the most about escaping from the world was that there was no one but himself. There were no girls fawning over him when he wasn't in the mood. There were no professors nagging him about an essay. And there was no one to remind him of responsibilities.

While up in the air, he made his own rules. He could scream as loud as he wanted without being yelled at. He could fly in circles without anyone caring at all. And most of all he could be himself, not having to live up the expectations that so many people set for him.

After warming up a bit in the air, James flew down to the ground to release the golden snitch. True, he wasn't a seeker for the team, but he still loved the joy of chasing the tiny ball around the pitch.

Once the ball was out in the open, James gave it a five second head start, and then set off after the golden ball. He flew up high above all the tree tops, giving him an amazing view of the scenery. His eyes searched the ground below him, looking for the snitch. It took some time, but his eyes finally locked onto the ball. It was hovering closely to the goal post on his right, and he dove after it as fast as his broom would allow him.

He came closer and closer to golden snitch, only feet away from it. It moved then, forcing James to follow after. The ball wound its way all the way across the field, ending up at the opposite goal post before James finally got a grip on the ball. He felt the familiar feeling of the tiny ball in his hand, struggling to get away from his strong grasp.

Just then he heard a clapping noise and looked up to see a girl in the stands. She was wearing a deep blue cloak around her thin, tall, body. Her dark hair was blowing behind her from the wind.

James flew over to her side, figuring out quickly that it was Zaynah who had come to watch.

"What are you doing here?" he asked while shoving the snitch back into the box it had come out of.

"I came to see you," she said with a cheery smile on her face.

"Oh…how'd you know I was here?"

"Lucky guess. Plus you weren't in the Great Hall, and Sirius said that you weren't in your common room either," she replied.

"So, what's new with you?" he asked. He could tell that there was sweat on his face, and he probably looked like a wreck, but he honestly didn't care at all.

"Not too much…That was some dive you just did."

"Nah, it wasn't that great. Our seeker does a hell lot better, she's fucking amazing," James commented.

"Yeah…Okay, James, there is a reason I came to see you. I just really don't know how to say it," Zaynah began.

"You can tell me anything," he told her.

Zaynah took a deep sigh, and said, 'It's about Lily Evans."

James's eyes lit up instantly at the words of his ex-girlfriend.

"I, I heard her talking with her fiends during lunch today, and, oh God, I really don't know how to say this."

"Just say it," he demanded. He was getting quite nervous about what Zaynah was about to say to him.

"She, she was saying why she even started dating you in the first place…It was because she wanted to become more popular, and since you're a Marauder, she knew that you could make her become the most popular girl in school," Zaynah lied.

"What? That doesn't make any sense," he commented.

"I know, but it's true…And, well, she said that now that you and her are over, her popularity is gone too. So, she wants to get back together with you, but only for that reason," Zaynah lied.

"What?" was all James could say. He was overwhelmed with the information that Zaynah was telling him. It just didn't seem possible. Lily could care less about being popular, besides she already was before he came into the picture.

And why would she do this to him? It didn't seem like her at all. Lily was always sweet and innocent, never even harming a Slytherin. How could she use him like that? James just didn't understand how something like that could happen to him. Did that mean that she never loved him in the first place? Had their relationship meant nothing to her?

"James, I'm really sorry," Zaynah said with sympathetic eyes.

He didn't say anything, only turned away form the girl in front of him. He hopped on his broom again and headed straight for the sky, once again trying to escape the news that had just come to him.

Once Zaynah knew her face was out of his vision, she let out a gigantic smile. Her plan had worked. James bought every lie she had told him. And now, Lily would come crying to him, and he would shun her away, never to speak to the girl again.

…

"Okay, Lily, there he is, go talk to him," Marissa said while pointing to James. He was sitting at the opposite end of the table, talking with the Marauders and Zaynah. His face looked somewhat sad, yet anger was clearly seen. In fact even the way he ate his food contributed to the look of anger. It looked as if he stabbed it sharply with his fork, not caring what others around him thought.

"Not yet, I need to wait until he's been in here for more than a couple minutes," Lily reasoned.

"Fine, but no chickening out this time," Scarlett sternly told her.

"I know; I'm not going to. Last time was completely different," Lily replied. However, last time was not completely different at all. In fact, it was a fairly similar situation-

_James was sitting by himself near the lake one cold morning. Lily wasn't sure what he was doing out there, and only saw him form afar, but knew instantly that it was him. From her dormitory window she could see his dark, messy hair being blown slightly by the wind. The snow around him was turning his skin an even paler white, and his body looked so small from where she was. But she knew instantly that it was indeed him, how she wasn't sure, but it was. _

_She found herself gazing out the window, admiring him from afar, when Gracie popped up next to her. _

_"What're you doing?" she asked._

_"Nothing," Lily replied a little too quickly._

_Gracie pushed her out of the way, getting a glimpse of the outdoors, "Who's out there?"_

_"James," Lily admitted._

_"Why don't you go out there and talk to him, I mean, it'd be the perfect time. His friends aren't around, and it would be so romantic to make up outside on such a gorgeous morning," Gracie suggested._

_Lily looked at her friend, and nodded, yes she would go talk with him. "Let me just grab my cloak." _

_As Lily headed out the front entrance of the school, she began to get a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach, as if butterflies were inside her. She hadn't been this nervous in a long time, not since her first day of Hogwarts. _

_She took a deep breath and walked down the steps that led to the ground. She was really going to do it, she was going to tell James that was wrong to have broken up with him before, and that she was terrible sorry. _

_With each step she took, her nerves began to take even more control. Her heart was beating fast, and she had a deep look of worry on her delicate face. Her palms became sweaty in her white gloves, and she could feel her face turn a bit green with queasiness. She tried to take another deep breath to force the nerves away, but it didn't help. She only became even more nervous._

_When James was only across the yard form her, she realized she couldn't do it, not then anyways. So she quickly turned on her heel and walked back toward the castle, careful not to be seen by James. _

Lily shoved that memory out of her mind; she truly didn't want to experience all those nerves again. She took another deep breath and got up form the table. Her strides were short and slow, buying her more time to think of what exactly she would say.

In a matter of seconds she was half way there, going past a group of first year boys. They were laughing hard at a joke a boy with bright blonde hair had said. Lily glanced in their direction, feeling even more nervous at the sound of their laughter.

There was no going back though, not this time. She was determined to tell James what was on her mind. She was determined to find herself wrapped in his strong arms once again.

She was just about there, only a few more steps and she would be face to face with him. Her stomach had that nervous feeling once more, as if she would lose her dinner if she spoke at all. Her palms were getting slightly sweaty once again.

'Oh God, I can't do this,' Lily silently thought.

She turned her head back to glance at her friends, all had smiling faces on. They were watching her, watching her every move. She could sense that they were encouraging her to complete her goal, which made the nerves die down a tad bit.

'Oh God, this is it,' she whispered to herself before taking another deep breath.

"Um, James, can I talk to you for a second?" she asked. She hoped that her voice didn't sound too anxious, for she didn't want to give herself away just yet.

He looked up at her with devilish eyes, fiercer than Lily had ever seen before. "Fine," he mumbled before getting up form his seat.

They walked in silence out of the Great Hall; Lily with a smile on her face, and James with a sour look.

James stopped once they were just outside the Great Hall, far enough to escape the noise. Of course Lily had wished to talk with him outside in complete privacy, but this would do just fine.

"James," she began after a couple moments, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" he asked bluntly.

"For, for breaking up with you, because if I could do it again, I wouldn't have," she replied, a slight blush coming to her cheeks.

"What's you point?" he bitterly questioned.

"James, I, I want to be with you," she answered.

"And why's that?"

Lily was quite taken back by his question, but responded, "I, I love you."

"That's too bad," he softly told her, unable to look her in the eye. When those words left his mouth, James felt a slight pang in his heart. True, he was mad at her for using him, yet those were the words he wanted to hear for weeks now.

Lily felt her face go white, and she could sense that tears were building up in her eyes. "You don't mean that."

"Don't tell me what I do and do not mean to say."

"James," she said. Her brow was slightly knitted together with confusion. She couldn't believe what he was saying; did he truly not love her?

"I'll see you around," he mumbled before turning back toward the Great Hall.

Lily just stood there, dumbstruck at what just happened. She had been so sure that he still loved her, as she still loved him. Yet, he left her brokenhearted, tears streaking her cheeks.

**

* * *

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**Author's Note 2:** Hey all! Sorry it's been a while, but I just didn't know what I wanted to do for this chapter until the other day! So I wrote it, and here it is! I hope you guys all liked it and please review! Oh, and seriously, I can just imagine the reviews now: that Zaynah girl is such a bitch!


	37. Quidditch Practice

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to Jessie xxx, milkywaypnay37, Sasha, TigerRose, Prongsie-Jamesie, Sirius-lives-4-ever, cilverblood, MissMrprk, J.E.A.R.K.Potter, little-angel123452000, siriuszsecretlover, Erinye, Niux, James's Lily, Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot, KC's-Diamond, alli88, MonkeyGurl1, RedPillow, DistinguishedDreamer, lOvEiNhEaVeN, judystarr, Tanya J Potter, Di, its a spoon, PruePotter, Stephanie, RawBean, justdreem, Lady Farevay, and Pye for reviewing! Wow, I can't believe how amazing you all really are! Thanks!

Oh, and a few people have asked about the name "Zaynah." Well, it's pronounced (I really hope I've got the pronunciation symbols right) Zay-na. I guess kind of the way it looks. And it is NOT a made up name, I actually know a girl with that name. She originally came from India, so that may be the country of origin.

* * *

"Lily, wake up."

"Mhmmmm."

"Lily, we have class in like twenty minutes. You need to get up."

"Mhmmm."

"Lily Marie Evans, if you don't get up this second I'm throwing a bucket of cold water on you," Gracie furiously told her friend.

"God, just let her miss a few classes. I mean she just got shut down by James last night, she deserves her rest," Marissa snapped at Gracie.

At that Lily's eyes immediately filled with water as the memory of last night flooded her mind. James had said no. He broke her heart into a million pieces; her one true love had refused her.

"Jeez, Marissa, look what you did! Now she's crying," Scarlett said as she came over to Lily's bed. "Lily, listen to me. I know that it's hard, trust me, I really do, but you can't let him get the better of you. You can't let him know how bad it hurts by not going to class. So, here you go; a nice top and here's your skirt." Scarlett handed Lily her clothes, which she took in her limp hand.

Once Lily was dressed, she still looked miserable. Her hair wasn't washed, just thrown up into a very messy ponytail. She didn't have a trace of make-up on her tearstained face and she was missing her gorgeous smile. Her almond shaped eyes were no longer bright and cheery, but instead were dull and without life.

…

Once the girls were in their Herbology class, they settled quickly into their seats, completely missing breakfast that day. Only a few seats away were the Marauders, who were on the receiving end of many disapproving looks, glares, and death looks.

"Um, Prongs, I know you said you didn't want to talk about what happened between you and Lily last night, but what the fuck happened?" Remus asked as he nodded his head toward all of Lily's angry friends.

James looked over to see the girls; Marissa had a sour look upon her sexy face, Zoë was giving him a look to kill, Scarlett just shook her head as their eyes made contact, and Gracie was muttering something among the lines 'Bastard.' Then there was Lily, who made him so angry, yet made his heart jump. She was sitting there looking as beautiful as ever, in his opinion. Her thrown back hair showed off her porcelain skin, and her solitude look made him want to hug all her troubles away. Yet, he kept on remembering Zaynah's words: Lily was only using him. Those words took her picture perfect imagine away, distorting it make her look snobbish and bitchy.

"Nothing happened," James answered.

"Don't lie to me, Prongs. I know when I see glares, and those are the best of them coming your way."

"She asked me out," James simply replied.

"What? Who?"

"Evans."

"Then what the fuck are you doing over here, go sit with her," Remus instructed.

"I said no."

Remus just gave him a look before lightly smacking him on the head. "Why the fuck did you say no?"

"It's a long story… and don't hit me," James answered.

"We've got time," Remus muttered.

James sighed before telling his friend exactly what Zaynah had told him. At the end of the story, James noticed that Remus had a strange look on his face; a look of disbelief perhaps.

"That doesn't make any sense," Remus commented.

"I know…but it's true," James responded.

… 

James couldn't believe the day he was having; between Lily's friends glaring at him, Remus telling him how stupid he was, Peter lecturing him about how Zaynah must have been mistaken, and Sirius being a brat all day long, James wasn't sure how he even survived. It seemed that out of his good friends, only Zaynah was being completely normal and friendly with him.

Now it was time for Quidditch, the one place where he was confident that everything would go his way. True, both Sirius and Zoë were on the team as well, but he knew that once the practice got underway, the two of them wouldn't give him any bullshit about Lily.

"Alright, we're just going to start right in tonight…Kendall, I want you guarding the left goal post tonight, all the chasers will be scoring there. Sirius and Connor, I want you guys to try and not beat each other up too badly with the bludger this time. And Sukie, I'm going to let the snitch go in a few minutes. I want you to give it a good five minute head start before taking off," James told his teammates. They all nodded in response, each grabbing their brooms and heading toward the sky. Their red uniforms soared across the sky, looking vibrant beneath the night's light.

Once up in the air, James saw that Jeff Crawford, the sixth year chaser had taken the quaffle. He held it in his pale hands, soaring sideways, across the pitch. James could easily tell what Jeff was doing; trying to confuse the keeper by flying in different areas.

He sighed; this play would certainly not work in an actual game. For starters; the keepers are always aware and on guard, knowing perfectly well the plot. Secondly, Jeff would be lucky if the other teams didn't' grab the ball out of his arms, or the bludger didn't whack him across the head.

As the ball left Jeff's hands, Kendall expertly darted out to get it, tossing the ball over to James. "Crawford, get over here now," he called out.

Jeff flew to his side, a confused look upon his face.

"What the fuck are you doing?"

"Playing quidditch," Jeff remarked.

"What the fuck was the play?" James asked.

"What are you talking about? That was good."

"Sure, if you were playing against a bunch of beginners. We need more precise moves, stuff that the opponents won't be able to detect," James responded.

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

"Okay, let's get back to practice then," James said, a content look upon his face.

As the practice went on, James was quite happy at what he saw. Their keeper, Kendall, had blocked several tough shots, Jeff, Zoë, and he had tried several maneuvers that professionals use, the beaters hadn't bloodied each other up too badly, and the seeker, Sukie, had managed to catch the golden snitch in a record time of five minutes flat.

Just as the practice was coming to a halt, James felt and heard a ball come flying toward his head, missing by only inches. He turned to his left, expecting to see the Slytherins there, trying to give him shit. However, he saw Zoë sitting calmly on her broomstick.

"Zoë, was that you?" James asked.

"Yup," she responded.

"You almost hit me!" he exclaimed, his eye brows raised high into his forehead.

"I guess my aim is a little off then," she coolly responded.

"I'll say; I mean, the goals that way," he replied while pointing his finger toward the left.

"I know."

At the James was furious; Zoë had just purposely chucked the quaffle at his head. "Okay, that's it. Sutton, get your ass over here right now," James hollered.

"What do you want?" she asked as the two of them flew down toward the ground.

"Why are you being such a bitch?" he bluntly asked.

"Why are you such a bastard?" she retorted.

"You're just mad because I don't want to be with Evans," he responded.

"Potter, I don't get it! For the longest time I could hear you pining over her after every practice, and yes, I can hear everything you boys say in the locker rooms, the walls are pretty thin. It was always, 'Oh, isn't she so gorgeous' or 'I want her back' or 'I love her so much,' so why is it different now? Why did you suddenly change your mind?" Zoë demanded.

"Because I learned the fucking truth about her," James exclaimed.

"What?"

"Yeah, I know what she tells you, you know, why she even started dating me in the first place," he bitterly answered.

"James, what are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about."

"No, I really don't…Because as far as I know, she started dating you because she started liking you. And I really don't see the problem in that, other than that fact that she must have been fucking crazy at the time," she replied.

"Don't give me this bullshit, Sutton. I know that she told you guys that she didn't like me at all. That she only dated me because she wanted to be 'popular,'" he angrily responded.

"What?"

"Yeah, I know all about her little secret. And I'm not about to be her tool again."

"This doesn't make any sense, James. Lily never said anything like that…She loves you," Zoë told him, and quickly added, "And only God knows why she does."

"Well, that's what Zaynah told me," he hotly responded.

"Zaynah? Zaynah told you this…and you believed her?" Zoë asked, not certain she actually heard him correctly.

"Yeah…she's my friend. Why wouldn't I believe her?"

"Let's think about that for a second. Who would be just as happy to have Lily dead? Who would actually lie to get Lily away from you? And, why would Lily be crying her bloody eyes out right now if she didn't' truly love a moron like yourself?" Zoë remarked.

"What are you getting at?"

Zoë swiftly hit him upside the head, not wanting to believe his stupidity, "Zaynah is a fucking liar, you dumb ass."

"No she's not."

"Yes, she bloody is!"

"Why would she be lying?" James questioned.

"Why wouldn't she? I mean come on, it's the ideal moment. You and Lily, the schools cutest, most sincere couple breaks up. And Zaynah, the cold hearted bitch, becomes your friend. And now, Lily wants you back, and you want Lily back. The only problem is that Zaynah doesn't want Lily back. So, she goes and makes up that pathetic story and somehow you believe it…Think about it, Potter," Zoë calmly responded.

James looked at the blonde haired girl in front of him; her cheeks pink form the cold, her uniform slightly dirtied, and her brown eyes wide with knowledge. Could this girl really be speaking the truth? Was Zaynah just lying to him all along? Could Lily honestly love him?

At that last question, James felt like slapping himself. Of course Lily loved him, she always had. For instance, at his house during Christmas Break; he remembered waking up next to her one morning, after falling asleep in front of the fireplace. She had looked so graceful, so beautiful, and so amazing. When she later woke up, her smile lit the room when she saw his face.

How could he doubt Lily's love for him? Or better yet, how could he doubt his own love for her?

"I just made the biggest mistake of my life, didn't I?" he quietly asked Zoë, although a response was not necessary.

"Go find her."

With those words, James dropped his broomstick on the ground, not caring that it was his prized possession. He started into a fast run, not caring about anyone or anything that he passed. All he knew was that he needed to get back to the castle; he needed to find her before it was too late.

As he approached the door, he flung it open with ease and ran into the Great Hall, hoping she would still be there. Instead, he saw the one girl he never wanted to see again.

"James, how was practice?" Zaynah sweetly asked.

"You fucking bitch, if you weren't a girl, I'd punch the living hell out of you," James crossly told her before running out the door toward the Gryffindor common room.

As he ran down the marble staircases, he felt an energy boost come through him, making it seem as if he would reach Lily in only seconds. His heart was pounding from both the running and from seeing Lily again.

"Mr. Potter, stop running right now!" shouted an angry Professor McGonagall. James had just barely missed running straight into the old woman.

"Just give me a detention, Professor," James hollered as he rounded the corner, and straight into the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"Pig Snout," he said while breathing deeply.

The portrait swung open instantly, allowing entrance to the cozy common room. As James came in, his uniform still on and all sweaty, he furiously looked around. He saw a group of girls sitting on the chairs by the fire, quills at hand. There was Scarlett, Marissa, Gracie, two sixth years named Katie and Lacey, as well as a fifth year named Hillary. But there was no Lily to be seen.

James ran over to them and blurted, "Where is she?"

"Why? Want to break her heart even more?" Scarlett bitterly asked.

"Just tell me where she is," he pleaded, a desperate look in his eye.

"She's upstairs, probably crying again," Gracie answered, a murderous look in her eye.

"Can one of you, please, I'm begging you, go up there and bring her down here?"

Scarlett eyed him up and down, as if she was unsure whether to trust him or not. "Fine, but if you hurt her, I swear to God, you will be a very sorry man."

As Scarlett left to go upstairs, James was forced to wait. He hated waiting, especially for the important things. Of course, they were always worth waiting for, but he was so impatient. All James really wanted to do was hug and kiss Lily forever and ever. He wanted to be able to smell her sweet scent and gaze upon her lovely face.

It seemed like hours instead of minutes, but Scarlett finally returned. "She doesn't want to see you."

"What?" James asked. He hadn't thought of that happening, and now it was ruining his plan.

"She said she was already and emotional mess and she didn't need you to rub it in her face any more than you already did," Scarlett responded, adding a slight smile at the end.

"No, no, no, this can't be happening," James muttered. "I need to get up there…I need to see her."

Then a thought came to his head; he couldn't physically be inside Lily's room, but he could certainly be outside of the castle, looking into the room.

"Accio broom," he commanded while walking over to the common room window to receive the broomstick. As the wood came sailing into his grip, he quickly mounted the object and flew straight out the window.

He flew along the castle, peering in each window to find the seventh year girl's dormitory. In no time at all, he saw her. Her red hair was sprawled across the bed, hiding her delicate face.

He tapped in hand on the window, hoping to grab her attention.

She looked up, expecting to see an owl waiting for the window to open. Instead, she saw James, still in his quidditch outfit.

She had a bewildered look upon her face, but went to the window anyways, as if in a trance. "What are you doing?" she hissed.

"I needed to talk to you," he responded.

"Go away," she demanded.

"No, Lily, this is important."

"I don't give a damn about you, James Potter," Lily furiously told him.

"That's not true, you love me," he teased.

"Get away from me," she ordered.

"No, I need to explain."

"Make it fast."

"Lils, I made a mistake. I listened to someone that I thought I could trust, and believed every bogus word she spoke. It turned me against you; it turned me against us. But then I realized how wrong she was, and how wrong I was," James told her. When he saw that the answer wasn't grand enough, he went into the exact details; telling her that Zaynah made up lies, that it was Zaynah that didn't want the couple to be together.

"What are you saying?"

"Lils, I'm sorry for hurting you…I do love you," he answered.

Light tears fell from Lily's emerald eyes as she said, "I shouldn't get back with you. After what you put me through, and how you believed Zaynah's awful lies…But I think that I would hurt myself more than I would hurt you if I said no."

Full tears now fell from her eyes, forcing her to stop her speech.

"Lily," James pried.

"Come here," she managed to choke out.

As James neared the window sill, he felt Lily's arms around his neck, pulling the two of them close together. James expertly lifted her out of the window and onto his broom, grasping her tight to his chest. He flew the broom carefully to the ground, wanting nothing more than to kiss the woman he loved most.

"James," she whispered.

"Shhh," he whispered before laying a simple kiss on her lips.

"I love you," Lily whispered as the kiss ended.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Okay guys, I'm really sorry that I haven't updated in nearly a month. There's no excuse for me except that I've been awfully lazy. But now that I'm back from Thanksgiving Break where there was no computer, I've finally added the long awaited chapter 37! So, please remember to review!


	38. Moonlit Strolls

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to Sasha, PruePotter, milkywaypnay37, alli88, Tari, ilovecaptainjacks, Kim, its a spoon, RawBean, vickiicky, RedPillow, TheBeautifulLetdown, Sir, angryteabag, miss-mags-ak, Insania, ruin gowr, charmerbelle, ourlittlesecret7, Mei1105, u don't see me, Sirius-ly Psycho, Smay, Pranks Are So Siriusly Padfoot, DanRadLuver01, FallingNightmare, blufiresprite, MissMyrtle360, Siriusly Prongs, Raven, Katie Pie, and Allie for reviewing! I seriously think that that's the most reviews I have ever gotten for one chapter! I'm so incredibly psyched! You guys are the best!

Tari: Thanks for telling me that! I'll fix it as soon as possible. See, I'm American and I've never been to England, or even Europe for that matter, so I didn't know that. Well, I guess you learn something new every day!

MissMyrtle360: Um, I'm not actually sure about the whole James being a seeker or a chaser thing. I though J.K Rowling said that he was a chaser, and the movie was wrong to put him as a seeker. But I could be wrong.

Allie: Really? I'm pretty sure that Lily is in Gryffindor. Didn't it say that in the fifth book somewhere? Or didn't J.K Rowling say that once? I could be wrong though, she could be in Ravenclaw. But for the story she'll stay in Gryffindor.

* * *

"What do you say we go for a short walk?" James asked. He was overwhelmed with joy at the fact that Lily had agreed to take him back, and all he wanted to do was be with her at that moment, not take her back into the castle.

"Sure," she replied as James slid his arm around her waist, his other hand holding onto his broomstick, which he had used to bring Lily down from her dormitory window.

… 

"It's so beautiful out," Lily commented as she and James walked along the pathway outside.

"You're beautiful," he answered her.

She blushed slightly, as she always did when he commented on her looks. "Know what I've always wanted to do?"

"What?" he asked.

"Dance beneath the moon and the stars," she answered while gazing up at the almost full moon and twinkling stars above her head.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Yeah, just like in one of my favorite paintings. It's beautiful, a man and woman dressed in elegant clothing, dancing as if nothing is important except being there, dancing with the person that they love."

"Sounds nice," he commented, while tightening his grasp on her waist, pulling her body closer to his own.

"It was also set on a beach, the water reflecting from the sky."

James stopped at that moment, taking his free hand and grabbing her hand. Lily's eyes went wide with surprise, guessing that he was about to kiss her. Instead though, he smiled at her, keeping on hand across the small of her back, and gently intermingling his fingers with hers.

"I know this isn't exactly the beach, and there's no music, and neither of us are dressed elegantly, but I can promise you that there's nothing more important to me right now than to be here with you," James whispered into her ear, sending shivers down Lily's spine.

Lily smiled at his antics, feeling a sense of warmth from head to toe. Even though she had told him of a perfect situation of hers, she hadn't expected James comply with her wishes. In fact, the last time she had danced with James had been at the Valentine's Ball, nearly one month ago. She instantly remembered the pleasure she felt when the two of them were dancing beneath the moonlit sky, and she was so glad that the memory was becoming reality once more.

Despite the cold March weather, she could feel James's hands becoming somewhat clammy within her own, as if he were nervous.

"You okay," she softly asked while taking her head off of his shoulder.

"Yeah," he replied, as if she was asking an absurd question. The truth, however, was that he felt extremely nervous. He didn't know why, to be completely honest, but something about that moment, right there with her, made him feel strange inside. It wasn't a bad strange, not at all, but almost the feeling of falling in love with her for the very first time, again.

They stayed just like that for some time, not daring to speak, not daring to change position. The moment was too special, too sincere to ruin with gentle banter and giggles. During their dance, which lasted for nearly forty minutes straight, it felt as if they had just embraced. Time was lost between them, just being their in the presence of each other.

She softly nuzzled closer to him, creating an even more passionate environment between them both. Her delicate hand relaxed against his broad shoulder, feeling complete bliss.

"You fucking bastard!" came the voice of a woman not far from where they stood, breaking the silence and leisure that Lily and James had created.

"Who's that?" Lily questioned.

"Not sure, but I sure as hell don't want to be at witness in what is probably a breakup," James responded.

"Yeah," she softly replied, sighing as she spoke.

"Come on then, I'll fly you back up to your room," James told his girlfriend.

"Why don't we just go in the front door?"

"Because, we're not actually supposed to be out of the castle right now, and I don't want you to get in trouble on my behalf," he answered.

"How thoughtful," she teased.

"Come on," he told her as he mounted his broomstick, making sure that there was enough room for Lily to sit in front of him.

As they gained height, but little speed, Lily rested her head against James's chest, not wanting there moment to end. She loved being there with him; he even made flying enjoyable.

"Well, here we are," he told her.

"Yup," she replied, not wanting to leave the safeness she felt when with him.

"Um, Lils, this is the part where you get off of the broom and get into your own room," he joked.

"I know," she told him, her voice was full of fear, and she stiffened her stance greatly.

"Are, are you okay?"

"Um, well, the thing is, I'm not very comfortable with the fact that I've got to jump from the broom to the window," she answered, her voice showing even more fear than before.

"You got out here okay," he reminded her.

"Yes, but you were there to pull me through it, and I was bawling my eyes out anyways," she replied.

"Well, I promise that I won't let you fall."

"I can't get off of this broom, James Potter," she frantically told him.

"Yes you can," he responded. His grip on her body was loose, but not loose enough to let her escape his grasp.

"No I can't," she told him as she turned her head to look into his hazel eyes.

Her face truly did show how nervous she was. Her eyes were as wide as an owl's, and all the color was drained from her face. The expression she wore looked like one of a child who was lost at a mall.

His heart went out to her at once; softening up to her scared self. "How can I make this better for you?"

"I don't know, but James, I don't like being up here," she whined.

"Just don't look down," he told her.

"Oh God," she frantically said, and it was obvious that she had just looked down. Her room was one of the highest in the castle, making the drop well over ten stories high.

She grabbed onto his wrists which were currently wrapped around her stomach, her nails dug into them, and he wouldn't be surprised if his circulation was cut off by her death drip.

"Lils, you're hurting me," he told her.

"Oh, sorry…But James," she told him, her voice once again becoming high and squeaky with fear.

"Just relax," he told her. He knew he had to think of some way to get Lily into her room without scaring her half to death, but it seemed to be impossible, especially since she refused to take the small step from broom to windowsill.

"Can't you just fly into the room a little, and drop me off?" she asked.

"I can't. I'm not allowed into the girls dormitories," he stubbornly responded.

"Since when have you been known to follow the rules?"

"It's physically impossible, the stairs turn into a slide so you can't climb up them," he answered, his words becoming slower as he finished his sentence. But there were no stairs…it was only the window, and how on earth could a window detect the presence of a male?

"Lily, you are genius," he muttered into her ear as he flew the broom even closer to the window. It was now a few inches into the room, and few more, and a few more. His hands were in the room, then his face, and then the rest of him. Nothing happened. There was nothing there to shoot him out of the room.

"There you," he said.

She hopped off of the broom, happy to have both feet firmly planted on the ground. "Thanks," she told him as she hugged him tightly.

"Hey, don't mention it. You know I'd do anything to make sure you were safe," he answered, sucking up as best he could.

"Well, you don't have to stay on that bloody broom now that we're in the room, you know. I mean, there is a floor," she casually told him.

"Um, right," he said as he carefully planted one foot onto the hard wood floors. And once again, nothing happened. Even with both of his feet on the ground, there was nothing to swat him away. James Potter had beaten the rules of Hogwarts.

"Oh my God," Lily said with her eyes wide with realization. "You're in my room."

"Yup."

"That's amazing."

"Well, your boyfriend is a genius," he answered.

"Hey, watch it or you won't be in here fro much longer," she teased.

"Wow, I've always wondered what the girls' dormitory looked like," James told her as he glanced around the room. Never in his life had he see so much pink before! True, the bed curtains were red, as were the boys'. But the bedspreads all seemed to be some variation of pink.

"Which one is yours?" James asked, not even realizing how his question came across.

"That one," Lily cautiously replied while pointing to the one nearest the window. Her bed was a mess, to be honest. The sheets were pulled back, the pillow slightly askew, and even her school clothes sprawled upon it.

"Nice," he replied.

Lily went over to it and quickly shoved the clothes onto the bed right next to it, which James guessed as Scarlett's (because there was a picture of Scarlett and her boyfriend.) She sat down at once, smiling up at him.

"You know, you don't have to stand," Lily commented with a small smirk on her face.

"Right," James said as he sat on Scarlett's bed, directly across form Lily.

"Come here, silly," Lily said as she patted the spot right next to her own.

James knew his eyes went wide, but he went over to her side anyways.

"James," she said softly as she moved closer to him.

"Lily," he answered.

"Alone again," she whispered, still moving closer to him.

James felt himself grinning from ear to ear; he would have Lily all to himself now, no one there to interrupt the two of them. Now, no one would be screaming and about to be breaking up, like the little incident they had overheard outside.

His arms lifted up and around her body, pulling not only her hips, but her chest closer to him as well. "You're all mine now," he whispered before laying a quick kiss on her lips.

"Mhhmm" was her vocal response, as her hands flew to his neck, dragging his head back to her lips.

He playfully kissed her red lips, each kiss becoming longer and more passionate. His hands roamed her back and sides, messing up the neat perfection of her shirt. His hand resting against a small portion of exposed skin made Lily tingle inside. She loved being with him, she loved the way he made her feel like she was the only one he would ever care about, and she loved the way he made butterflies flood her stomach with just one look.

"I love you," she whispered into his ear as she laid slight kisses along his jaw line.

"Mhhmm," he murmured as a slight grin appeared on his face.

But then Lily's kisses stopped, and she sat up straight, nearly knocking James off of her. Her eyes went wide and James could feel her heart beating even faster than before.

"What is it?" he asked, curious if there was something that he did wrong.

"Do you hear that?" she hissed.

James listened and heard the voices of two girls coming up the stairs, their footsteps becoming louder and louder. He couldn't recognize the voices, but knew for a fact that neither of them belonged to any of Lily's roommates.

"So?" he questioned.

"You need to get out…or hide," she told him, a scared look in her eyes.

"What? Why?"

"Because, people are coming," she frantically answered.

"But," he protested, just wanting to continue on with what they had been doing.

"Listen, James, other people come in this room besides the girls that live here. Anyone could barge in right now," Lily told him.

And as if Lily's words were coming to life, there was a loud knock on the wooden door. "Just a minute," she called out.

"What should I do?" James whispered.

"Um, hide. Yes, hide under my bed," she told him.

Quickly, James did exactly what Lily had told him to do and darted under the bed as fast as possible, which was slightly difficult, but he managed.

"Hello," Lily cheerfully said as she opened the door, allowing the two girls to enter. "What's up?"

"Lily, we need help," one of the girls said.

"Yeah, this astronomy homework is a bitch," the other girl complained.

As Lily helped the two girls with their homework, and as James listened to the conversation, he came realize the girls must be fifth years, judging by the material being covered. But his attention was quickly altered to the hidden objects beneath the bed. A few pieces of parchment were there, all looking like crumpled homework assignments, an unopened chocolate frog, the very high heel of what appeared to be a broken shoe, and a small box.

The box had stickers all over it, and it looked as if it were ten years old. James, being the curious person that he is, opened the box without even thinking twice of it. Inside were piles and piles of old letters, mostly from other people, but a few written by Lily herself. He saw that the Hogwarts letters were each in there, as well as the letters informing her and becoming Head Girl and a Prefect.

As James saw three pairs of shoes walking toward the door, James began to put back all of the parchment. But seeing his name written on one in large letter quickly altered his agenda. So, he grabbed that one and shoved it in his pocket before placing the remaining letters back in the box.

"Okay, James, you can come out now," Lily told him as she peeked her head beneath the bed. "Sorry about that, by the way.

"Its okay," he answered, brushing himself off as he stood up.

"Well, we'll have to pick up where we left off another time, I'm afraid," she sweetly told him, a seductive look roaming in her almond shaped eyes.

"Yes, but before I go, I do expect a goodnight kiss," he teased.

"Is that so?" she questioned as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, kissing him lightly on his lips. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he responded while grabbing his broom. As he headed out the window, he waited for a moment, lingering at her window, just watching her perfect smile.

He then flew his broom straight toward his own dormitory, a broad smile on his face. To his own luck, the window was open and he flew into the room, making an ideal landing smack in the middle of the room.

Peter's eyes went wide with the shock of seeing one of his best friends zoom into the room. "Wow, James, that was a bloody brilliant landing!"

"Thanks Wormtail," he responded, basking in joy of not only a compliment, but having Lily back as well.

"So I'm guessing she said yes then?" Remus asked, a hint of a smile playing at his mouth.

"Who said yes?" Sirius asked.

"Lily," James answered, and then asked Remus, "How'd you know?"

"I saw Scarlett, she told me about your outburst."

"What the fuck is going on?" an impatient Sirius asked.

"Lily and I are back together."

"Way to go, buddy," Sirius said while clapping James slightly on the back.

"Yeah, I was just in her room with her," he accidentally told them.

"What?" came the voices of all three boys.

"How'd you manage that one?" Sirius asked.

James grinned and then told the Marauders all about what happened, leaving out all of the romantic stuff, of course. He didn't' exactly want to tell them about his private life with Lily, which was odd because he told them everything. But this seemed different; to James it felt as if the time he shared with Lily was between the two of them, no one else was involved, no one else was thought about, and no one else should have the privilege of knowing.

… 

Later that night, as James crawled into bed, he found the letter. He stared hard at the folded page, not looking at the words, but at the blank backside of it. For some reason he couldn't open it, he couldn't look past the "Dear James." He didn't know why he felt this way, after all, James was certainly not the person that would miss an opportunity to snoop around in other people's business, especially one that concerned him.

But as he held Lily's letter in his hands, he felt like a solid brick block was holding him back. And he knew that it wasn't a protection spell, but his own conscious doing so. The letter was addressed to him, but never sent; meaning that Lily didn't want him seeing it, meaning that it was her own personal item.

"What's that?" Sirius asked glancing down to the folded piece of paper in James's hands.

"A letter."

"From Lily?" he questioned.

"Yup."

"What's it say?" Sirius asked.

"Honestly, I don't know," James answered. "I found it in her room."

"Are you going to read it?"

"No. She didn't send it to me, so she obviously doesn't want me to read it," James replied.

"Then why'd you take it in the first place?"

"Curiosity," he simply responded.

"And you're not anymore?" Sirius questioned.

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"Since when did that stop you before?"

"It didn't," James honestly answered.

"Then, my friend, I'd say that you truly do love her," Sirius told him, a genuine smile at his lips.

"I do."

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Hey guys! Sorry, once again that it's been about a month since I've updated last. I hope that you all can bear with me here, and accept that updates will be about once or twice a month until school's out for the summer. And I hope that you guys like this chapter, I seriously had a mini writer's block- which consisted of me staring at a blank screen for a while, and rewriting the first two pages about five different times. Anyways, hope you all had a great holiday, have a happy new year, and please remember to review!


	39. Professor Rander's Secret

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to Pristinelily, blufiresprite, evahyoung, milkywaypnay37, Katie Pie, xxxMs.Mexxx, Slytherin's Cliffy Queen, MissMrprk, justdreem, miss-mags-ak, Boy-Crazy Bookworm, Prongs' Princess, alli88, Flame Of Desire, ourlittlesecret7, misschris523, Mei1105, Miss Myrtle360, TheBeautifulLetdown, hpandfriendsruletheworld, hpjsr, Jessie xxx, PruePotter, its a spoon, Mandy, Hermione Weasley192, switchfootlover, fallingnightmare, lily, emma-radcliffe, gryffindorelf9, and Rosey for reviewing! It means a lot to me! And I promise that I'll update more often next time! Six months really is way too long, sorry!

* * *

"If you were stranded on a desert island, and you could only have one thing with you, what would you bring?" Lily asked her boyfriend. The two of them were roaming the halls late at night, one of the duties they shared as being Head Boy and Girl.

"Hmm, I would have to say my broom. That way I could fly off of the island," he answered.

"That doesn't count. If you really wanted to get off, you could just apparate out of there, but that would defeat the purpose of the question," she told him.

"Well, in that case, I'm not really sure. You see, I would want to bring you, and Sirius, and Remus, and Peter. And my wand of course, that's a necessity. And with having my wand, I could conjure up everything that I need," James answered.

"That's cheating again. You can only have one thing, and you can't conjure up other things. And you can't bring people, people aren't objects," Lily told him, a sweet smile playing at her lips.

"Hmm, what if I bring my broom, but promise not to fly off of the island, is that fair?" he asked.

Lily thought about it for a second, but then responded, "Yeah, I guess that does work."

James smiled at her, and then asked, "What about you? What would you bring?"

"My muggle record player, the one that I enchanted to work here," she told him, no long process of thought out into her decision.

"Music? Why's that?"

"I love to sing and dance," she answered.

"Really, let's see it then," he replied, swinging himself in front of Lily to block her path.

"No, not here, not now," She responded, her cheeks becoming pink.

"Why not?"

"James, we are supposed to be looking out around the hallways, finding troublesome kids. We're not supposed to be noisy and get in trouble ourselves," she answered.

"So, when have I ever been known to follow all the rules?" he questioned.

"No, I'm not going to do it," she simply told him.

"Oh come on, what if I go first?" he asked.

"You can sing and dance?" she questioned. Her arms were crossed tightly around her chest, a look of disbelief on her face. Yet, she smiled at him, knowing he was trying to make her smile, and succeeding at it.

"Of course I can sing and dance," James told her, a hint of laughter in his eyes.

"Let's see it then," Lily teased.

"I've got sunshine on a cloudy day.

When it's cold outside

I've got the month of May.

I guess you'd say

What can make me feel this way?"

Standing in front of Lily, was James Potter, singing the lyrics to "My Girl." He held his hand in a fist, as if pretending to hold a microphone. Surprisingly, his voice wasn't bad at all, on the contrary, it was rather good.

"My girl (my girl, my girl)

Talkin' 'bout my girl (my girl)."

As James recited those lines, he got down on his knee, and held his hand out to Lily. His face was full of smiles, a joking amusement in his eyes.

It was then that Lily couldn't hold back any longer. Laughter spilled out of her. She clutched her stomach in an attempt to regain herself, but it was useless, the laughter wouldn't stop.

"Miss Evans, I am very offended," James joked. "You were ruining a perfectly good performance."

Lily only continued laughing.

"I am truly hurt, Lily. I can't believe you're laughing at me," said James.

She continued laughing.

"Lily, I'm serious," he told her.

"No you're not," she teased.

"I know, just like playing with you," he answered. "And now, I do believe it is your turn."

"What? No way," Lily responded.

"We had a deal."

"No we didn't. You offered," she replied.

"You can't back down," he added.

"I'm not. There was no agreement, so technically I'm not backing down to anything," she sweetly reminded him.

"Come on, please," he begged.

"No."

"Please, please, please," he begged again, this time bringing out his infamous 'puppy dog eyes.'

"No, no, no," Lily told him, avoiding his eyes completely. She couldn't resist his puppy eyes, just as he couldn't resist hers.

"Please."

"Nooo," she said as she started to walk off.

He followed her, his footsteps increasing size each time. She could hear him gaining speed, so she increased her steps as well. Trying desperately to get away form him, trying desperately to get away form those 'puppy dog eyes.'

"Come on, Lils, you're not seriously going to make me follow you around the castle until you do it?" he asked.

"Then don't make me do it," she responded.

"Please," he begged once more.

"James, I'm not…" Lily began, but was cut off by James fiercely grabbing her arm and pulling her away.

"Do you hear that?" he whispered.

Lily strained her ears, trying her best to listen to what James had heard. She didn't hear anything, and instantly thought that it must have been some stupid joke he was playing on her. Until she heard it, a woman's voice was coming from a nearby room.

"Who is that?" Lily whispered to James.

"You don't recognize it?" he asked. Lily shook her head no. "It's Rander."

"Professor Rander? But I thought she was out of town," Lily stated, remembering the class that morning. She arrived to find not Professor Rander at the head of the classroom, but Dumbledore teaching instead. Actually, it had been the greatest class ever. Dumbledore didn't raise his voice once, and even the students who hated potions enjoyed the lesson. When Lily asked the Headmaster where their normal potions teacher was, he replied by telling her not to worry, Rander was to be out of town the entire weekend. Her dear old mother was sick and needed constant care.

"She is supposed to be out of town," James answered, recalling a similar memory as Lily had just had.

"Then why is she here?" Lily demanded.

"I don't know," he answered.

Without any warning, James took hold of Lily's hand, and quietly stepped out of the darkness that covered them. He glanced at his girlfriend, placing a finger to lips, motioning her to be quiet.

Lily did as she was told, but wasn't happy about it. She didn't want to be seen by Rander. In fact, all she wanted was to go back to Gryffindor, where she would be out of harms way.

"I don't know about this," she whispered.

"Do you trust me?" James asked.

"Of course I do," Lily answered.

"Then follow my lead, and stay as quiet as humanly possible."

They crept closer to the source of the voice, but now could hear not only Professor Rander, but someone else as well. This voice belonged to a man. It was deep, almost eerie sounding.

"I demand an explanation," the man said. His voice was cold as ice.

"I can explain, I swear I can," Rander said.

"Then start talking," the man bitterly stated.

"Well, the mission failed," Rander answered.

"Does it look like I'm in the mood for jokes, Rander?" the man asked, he seemed very irritated.

"So, sorry. Somebody must have tipped the Rayne's off. When Araminta and I went to the house, everyone was gone. We couldn't help the situation," Rander explained.

"I should have sent Malfoy and his son on the case," the man muttered.

"I won't fail you next time," Rander told him.

"If there is a next time," the man threatened.

"Sir, my lord, you must forgive me," Rander begged.

"I'll think about it," he responded.

Little did Rander know, James and Lily had slowly gotten closer and closer to the door as the conversation went on.

Lily couldn't believe her eyes, she saw Professor Rander begging for forgiveness from the man in the fireplace. A man that looked so familiar, with his large red eyes. Red eyes!

"James," she whispered, "that's You-know-who!" Her whisper was frantic and her heart started to pound. She couldn't believe that the man that had haunted her dreams was in their teacher's fireplace.

He put his finger to his lips once more, signaling her to be quiet. Lily only stared at him; he had known all along. He knew that Rander was a deatheater, and now he was getting his proof. She was astonished.

"You're married aren't you, Mrs. Rander?" Voldermort questioned.

"Yes, my lord."

"Your maiden name, what is it?"

"Meliflua," Rander answered.

"So you worked this with your sister?"

"Yes, my lord," Rander answered.

"You have another sister, is that correct?"

"Yes, my lord."

"Why didn't she accompany you?" Voldermort asked.

"I do not know, my lord," Rander answered.

"She is a Black," he stated.

"Yes, my lord."

"A good, respectful name. You or that one stupid sister of yours isn't' going to go anywhere without a proper deatheater with you. Black should have gone with you, next time I'll see to it that she does," Voldermort informed her.

Lily and James looked straight into each other's eyes. Rander was related to the Black family?

"Sirius," they whispered at the same time.

"Did you hear that?" Voldermort snapped, interrupting Rander as she spoke.

Lily's heart was beating faster than it ever had before; she was surely to be caught by Rander, murdered for discovering her secret.

'Shit,' James thought to himself. He couldn't believe he dragged Lily into this, and to be caught! That would bring about both of their deaths. He had to think of something, anything that would save them. Or at least save Lily. And in an instant he knew what to do. He grabbed Lily's hand and swiftly pulled her into the broom closet.

James kissed her roughly on the lips. Lily couldn't believe it, here they were going to be caught and James wanted to kiss her? She tried to pull away, but his grip on her was strong, stronger than he'd ever touched her before. She had never experienced pain when being with James before tonight, and she didn't like it at all.

Then the door opened, Rander standing on the other side, looking in at the couple kissing in the closet.

"What's going on in here?" she asked, her voice was bitter.

James then released Lily from his mouth and hands. He looked very flushed, and Lily could feel that her cheeks were pink and steamy.

"Professor," James said. He sounded as if he were astonished to see her here. "I, I thought that you were away." As these words left his lips, his eyes became larger, almost as if he were afraid and embarrassed for being caught.

"I came back. What are you doing here?"

"Well, we, we just wanted some time to ourselves. And, well, since you were away, we thought that no one would interrupt us here," James lied.

Lily stared at him, and was amazed at how well he could lie. Or, for that matter, act. He looked as if he did just get caught in the broom closet with a girl, rather than having just been spying on the professor. That was when Lily finally realized what was going on. He concocted a plan to get them out of trouble, or at least not in serious trouble. Now, Rander would simply think that they were in the closet the whole time, instead of just two minutes.

"Is this true, Miss Evans?" Rander asked.

"Yes professor," she lied. She looked down at the ground, as if to hide her embarrassment.

"Did you hear anything?" Rander asked. Her eyes looked like icicles, daggers almost.

"What do mean?" James asked.

"Any noises? Or any one talking?"

"Professor, I didn't even know that you opened the door until I heard your voice," James answered.

"Are you lying to me, Potter?" Rander asked. Her expression was stone cold.

"Why would I lie to you?" James retorted, wishing he hadn't after he spoke. This would only get on her bad side.

"Do you think it's funny to get wise with me?"

"No, professor," James answered.

"Miss Evans, did you hear anything, or see anything?" Rander asked.

"No, not anything," Lily quickly responded, she tried her hardest not to fidget with her hands.

"Well, then you wouldn't mind taking a truth potion, would you?" Rander asked. "Unless, of course, you have something to hide."

Lily glanced over at James, her heart racing. She wondered what his plan would be now.

* * *

**Author's Note 2: **Okay, I'm really sorry that this took so long to post. But I've been so incredibly busy with school, but that's over for the summer! Also, I did have a rather large writer's block. But that's over now, and I know exactly what I want to happen. And I hope you guys wont' be too upset with this mini cliffhanger! Also, I just want to say that I invented Rander, so in reality (or at least in every thing but my story) Sirius and Rander aren't really relatives. But for this story, Rander is Sirius's aunt. As for Araminta Meliflua, I actually found that on a website. So, it could be true, it could not. The website will be in my profile, because this site won't allow you to put websites in this part. Okay, well, I hope you all liked this long awaited chapter! I promise to hurry with the next one. Please review!


	40. Very Brave or Extremely Stupid?

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to x0x-Mystique-x0x, Deja-Vuu, themaraudersaremine, Miss Myrtle360, PruePotter, Trashcan, sunlitmist, milkywaypnay37, MissMrprk, soccerchic, and Katie Pie for reviewing! It means so much to me! And if you can believe it or not, it encouraged me to write this chapter sooner than I probably would have otherwise.

Miss Myrtle360: I actually found the name Araminta online. I have no idea if the family tree is accurate or not, but I gave it a shot. The website is in my profile, under the "Loving You" section.

* * *

James's heart was racing as he and Lily followed Professor Rander into her office. It was his fault that he and Lily were about to die a horrendous death; if he hadn't wanted to spy on their teacher, whom he was 99.9 percent positive was a death eater, then they wouldn't be in this situation right now. They wouldn't be about to take a truth potion, which would then reveal that they had indeed heard everything from Rander's and Voldermort's conversation.

He had to think of some cleaver way to get out of this, he just had to. Not only his life was in danger, but Lily's the one person he cherished more than life itself. If anything were to happen to her, on his account, he knew he wouldn't ever forgive himself. In fact, he would never be the same; he would never be the same without Lily at his side.

The hallway always looked dark, especially at night, but now it looked even darker. It looked gloomy and scary. The stone walls looked cold, and the only sources of light were the torches that hung on the walls, and the lantern in Rander's hand.

The walk to the office seemed to take hours, although in reality it was a mere thirty seconds. James searched his brain, but couldn't think of a single solution. 'Damn, I really screwed up this time,' he thought.

And then, they were in the office, the door shut tightly behind them. The room was filled with jars, each one holding different potions in it. Some were green and bubbly, others were deep red and thick looking. One was a light purple color. James gulped; he recognized that one as a powerful poisoning potion. Just one drop on your lips led to instant death.

James glanced over in Lily's direction, and noticed that she wore the same expression on her face as he did. He could tell that she knew exactly what he knew; they were both in enormous, death threatening situation.

"Sit," Rander ordered, her gaze strong and fierce.

Both Lily and James found their way into two chairs that sat opposite of the Professor's desk. Lily was biting her lower lip, a habit she had picked up since she was a child. She couldn't help the habit; it came natural whenever she was worried or frightened.

James looked over at Lily again, and this time squeezed her hand with his own. She squeezed his hand back. It made both of them calm down slightly, knowing that the other was there too.

"Now, I'll give you one more chance. Did you or did you not hear anything?" Rander asked.

Lily shook her head, unable to put together two words, let alone a sentence.

"No, we've told you already, Professor, we didn't hear anything," James lied.

"Fine," she responded, but summoned with her wand a tube of clear liquid. "Drink this, and then tell me."

She poured the liquid into two glasses, one for each student.

James took his in his hand, but didn't drink it yet. He didn't know what to do. He certainly couldn't drink it, but he couldn't not drink it either. He looked over at Lily; she also hadn't touched the potion to her lips.

Without any notice at all, James threw the glass to the floor, letting it shatter into hundreds of tiny pieces. All three people sat still, not knowing what to do next.

Lily looked at her boyfriend, wondering if what he did was very brave, or extremely stupid.

"You little brat, you liar!" shrieked Professor Rander as she raised her wand.

James was quick too though, and he had his wand raised just milliseconds after she did. "Incendio," James shouted.

A small fire appeared at the bottom of Rander's robes. She looked down, rather than being scared, she looked annoyed. She muttered another spell, this one sending water onto her robes to distinguish the fire.

But James was quick in saying the spell again, this time adding another one seconds after the first one occurred. "Impervius," he shouted. This spell was used to repel water, and it would buy him and Lily time to escape from the dungeons.

"James, let's go," Lily frantically said, motioning him to follow her.

Then it happened, the worst thing that could happen have happened. James was five steps away from Lily when he heard it. He turned his head to see Rander laughing, the fire gone from her robes. She had a smirk on her face, one that made James want to kill her.

He looked back at Lily, but where her head had been just seconds ago was thin air. He looked down and saw her body on the ground, heaving up and down. She was having a seizure.

His first instinct was to go to her and help, but he knew he couldn't help at all. She was under the Imperio curse, one of the unforgivable curses.

So, he did the only thing he could think of. He went over to Rander and punched her smack in the face. Blood gushed from her cheek bone, but James didn't care.

He remembered what his father had always taught him, never hit a lady. That was the number one rule, never hit a lady. Rule number two was to do anything and everything for the people you love. James was certain that in this scenario, rule number two was far more important. Besides, any man or woman that became a death eater was, in James's mind, not good enough to be considered a lady or gentleman.

"Flipendo," Rander casually said while touching her fingers to her cheek.

James went flying back, slamming his body into a large, wooden bookshelf. It began to wobble from impact; the large dusty books on top came crashing down. One knocked him right on the top of his head; luckily it was the skinniest book on the shelf. He had such a headache now, not even his worst hangover would compare with this unbearable pain.

He heard Rander let out a slight laugh filled with mockery. At that sound he forced his mind and body to concentrate on the situation: Lily was under the unforgivable curse, she could die from the seizures forced upon her body. He shook off the remaining books, seeing the cuts and bruises over his arms and legs. His robe was torn and looked raggedy, sweat and blood glistened his forehead.

He looked over at Lily, the muscle spasms stopped. The first thought that came into his mind was that Lily had died, and now all James wanted to do was cry. He wanted to curl up in a ball, hold her tightly to his arms, and never let go.

Then he saw her chest rise, and a sigh of relief came over him. She was breathing. James looked at her longingly; he still wanted nothing more than to hold her tightly.

Then it happened again, the seizures were back. James looked shocked. Could Professor Rander really have taken the curse off and then put it back on a couple minutes later. His eyes flickered over to her direction; it appeared that wasn't the case.

Rander saw him looking her way and said, "The seizures will go off and on every few minutes or so. I want her to be alive to watch you die."

James clenched his hands into fists and grinded his teeth together. He had to stand up and fight her. When he did, he could feel a sharp pain in his foot. James knew it was nothing more than a broken toe or two. Even if it were worse though, he was determined to complete this duel with Rander, he was determined to save Lily.

"Take it off her," James shouted.

"Why would I do that?" Rander asked.

"I'll do that same curse to you," James threatened.

"You don't have the guts," she plainly stated. "None of you people do, especially the Potters."

James stared at her, what on earth could she be talking about?

"You don't know, do you?" Rander asked. She could sense he didn't, but it was more fun to tease the boy than to cut straight to the chase.

"Of course I know," James lied, having no idea what she was referring to.

"That grandfather of yours, what a stupid wizard," she commented, knowing this would interest James.

He thought about it, his grandfather and grandmother had been murdered seven years ago. He knew that, everyone in the wizarding world knew that.

"Ah, you certainly don't know," she paused before saying, "He was in a situation quite similar to this. He could have saved himself, and probably that grandmother of yours too. All he had to do was use the killing curse on Malfoy, the elder one. He didn't though; he didn't have what it takes to cast it. He let himself and the grandmother of yours die."

James blinked, not believing her words. He didn't want to believe her.

Rander only smiled at him in that smile that James had grown to detest. Her eyes showed no sympathy, only hatred. Her lips were slightly curled, not exposing any teeth. She looked smug, as if she were better than James, as if she were more powerful that James, as if she had complete confidence in herself to kill both him and Lily.

"She could die, take it off her," James yelled, needing to change the subject. He backed away form Rander, closer to Lily.

He didn't know what to do now; Lily was in serious trouble, if this lasted much longer, she could die. But at the same time he knew he couldn't abandon he position with Rander, she could cast another spell, an even worse one.

With one hand on Lily, he took his wand and yelled, "Expelliarmus!"

Rander's wand was shot from her grasp, landing several feet behind her. It would be impossible to find now, among all those empty potion bottles. The curse on Lily, however, was still present, and would be until someone took it off her. James wished he could do it himself, but knew he was powerful enough to either conjure the curse or remove the curse.

"Fine, you want to play it that way, Potter," she stated, her eyes peering at him. She lunged for a bottle containing an ugly yellow-green mixture. James wasn't sure what it was, but knew it couldn't be good.

She flung the entire bottle towards James and Lily, the hot liquid pouring out all over the floor on its journey. When it did reach the couple, it was still relatively full. It splashed onto Lily, missing James by mere inches. James tried to stop it, but the liquid found its way into her gaping mouth. He could feel her getting hotter beneath his touch, almost unbearable to touch. In a matter of seconds she wasn't touchable. Although no one could touch her without burning, she was quite intact. Her body was physically fine, with the exception of the seizure.

"Why are doing this to her?" James shouted.

"Oh, because it's so much fun," she answered, completely serious. "Watching the mudblood suffer and die from seizures, and you, you pathetic boy. You can't save her now, and I know that's all you want to do. You want to save her, and the save the world from the most powerful wizard on earth. But you can't. You can't touch her, which means you can't save her. You can't win this battle, or even your life tonight, so you can't save the world either, Potter."

Anger was boiling up inside him; no one could talk to him like that, no one. No one could take Lily's life from her, no one.

He began to walk around the room, as did Rander. The two of them were circling the room, never breaking their eye contact.

"Did you really think that you wouldn't be caught?" James asked, not knowing where this question came from.

"Caught?" she sarcastically asked. "As far as the rest of the world will be concerned, you and that Evans girl were in here by yourselves, breaking the rules. You two stumbled upon my most dangerous potions, and drank them out of stupidity."

"That story will never work. Everyone knows that Lily and I are two of the best students at Hogwarts," James told her.

"Fine then, I'll set the room on fire. The two of you will have tragically died in the fire," Rander responded.

"But we both know the counter spell to fire, and the water charm, everyone knows those," he answered.

"I'll produce powerful spells using your wand once you die. They'll trace your wand and find out that you killed the mudblood, and then accidentally set fire to yourself because you were drunk. And yes, I'll put a bottle of alcohol by your side," Rander replied, getting very fed up with the situation.

About half way through her mini speech, James picked up a bottle in his hands, held behind his back. She hadn't seen him pick it up, wouldn't have even if her eyes weren't fixed on his.

"I'm not so sure I like that plan," James slowly, but confidently said, silently taking off the bottle's cap.

"Too bad," Rander smugly replied.

"Too bad for you," James told her, and then his chaser experience on the Quiditch team finally paid off. He threw the bottle of purple liquid at Rander's lips. Her eyes went wide with surprise, and bottle went straight into her open mouth. The purple liquid poured into her body, and the instant it did, she dropped to floor. Her breathing stopped, everything stopped. She was dead.

"Oh my god," he said aloud, but then rushed to Lily's side. She was still alive, but barely. If she didn't get this curse off her within the next ten minutes, she would surely be dead.

He urgently looked around, and then saw what he was looking for. A pair of dragon hide gloves were on top of a small table. James put them on, and was thankful that they reached to about midway on his upper arms. He then rushed over to Lily, now being able to touch her without burning himself.

He ran out of the room as quickly as he could. Luckily, Lily wasn't having a seizure now. But he knew it would be back in under two minutes.

"Help, someone help," he was shouting. He knew that none of the teachers would be able to hear him yet, not until he got out of the dungeons.

"Lily, I love you," he told her, breathless from the night's events, still running as best he could.

"Help," he shouted as loud as he could. He was now at the front entrance, near the Great Hall. Surely someone would come. He still ran though, ran and screamed like a madman.

A few seconds later, from behind him, James heard, "Potter, what is going on?"

He whipped his head around to see Professor McGonagall, wearing her nightdress and hair cap. She gasped when she saw Lily, who had started heaving up and down form he muscle spasms just moments before McGonagall found them.

"It's the Imperio curse, Professor" James explained, "Rander did it, and then made her swallow some potion, one that made it so no one can touch her without getting burnt."

"Oh my god," McGonagall said, she was still shocked. In an instant though, she regained herself and grasped her wand firmly in her hand. "Finite Incantatum," she said, removing all current spells, curses, and charms.

Lily's body immediately went limp; there was sweat along her entire body, exhausted from the seizures. She was pale, sickly looking. Her lips were dried and cracking, her breaths were small, and not frequent. She looked as if every ounce of life that she possessed had been drained from her body.

Just then Dumbledore ran over to them, his eyes wide open. He looked down at Lily's body, then over at James. Although Lily was clearly the student in serious trouble, James too looked awful. His hair was even more askew than normal, he had dried blood on his face. His robes were torn, blood lining the ripped robes.

"Headmaster," McGonagall started, but Dumbledore held up a hand to silence her.

"We need to get these two to the hospital wing. We'll talk there," Dumbledore responded. There was a certain light in his eye when he looked at James, almost as if he already knew what happened, yet like a child on Christmas, was eager to hear the night's event.

Professor Flitwick and Professor Ramsden (the Herbology teacher) both then rushed over to where Dumbledore and the rest were.

"What is going on here?" Flitwick asked, trying to move in closer to see what all the fuss was about.

When he finally shoved his way into the center of the group, he almost fainted. Lily Evans was his favorite student to have ever entered Hogwarts. Despite the fact that she wasn't in his own house, Flitwick and Lily both shared a love for charms. Lily was always top of the class, she knew every answer to every question, she was almost always the first to correctly work the charm, and was always volunteering to help others in class.

"She's unconscious," Dumbledore softly said, knowing that Flitwick had assumed the absolute worst. Flitwick looked somewhat relieved, but was still nervous about his star student.

Dumbledore leaned forward, placing a hand on Lily's head, trying to tell her temperature. He instantly yanked his hand away, shaking it from the heat. "What spell is that?"

"It's a potion, sir," James answered, not taking his eyes off of Lily.

"James, give me the gloves, I'll carry her to the hospital wing," Ramsden said. James looked up at him, not wanting anyone but himself to touch Lily.

Dumbledore sensed James's hesitation and said, "James, Professor Ramsden will be very careful with Lily. We would ask you to carry her yourself, but it looks as if you're in no condition to do so. You'll be needed to get your own cuts and bruises healed."

James looked once again at Ramsden. He was tall and strong, built like a beater in Quidditch. James eyed him, but took the gloves off and handed them over to the Herbology teacher.

"Well," Flitwick began, "I should go and alert the other teachers of this incident. I don't know the details, so I won't say anything other than Miss Evans condition…If Miss Evans wakes up before I get a chance to visit the infirmary tomorrow, give her my best."

Dumbledore then walked over to Flitwick, whispering something into his ear. Flitwick's eyes went wide, but he didn't say anything.

In a matter of minutes they all arrived at the hospital wing. Madame Lingwood was shocked when she saw her patients and guests. She shooed out Ramsden, but allowed both Dumbledore and McGonagall to stay.

Her attention immediately went to Lily, who was still lying unconscious. She searched her cabinets but could find nothing to reverse the potion. After half an hour of searching, and declaring that she couldn't find a single remedy, McGonagall was sent to The Owlery to send out an urgent message to anyone who may have a counter-potion. In the mean time, Madame Lingwood fixed James's cuts and mended his three broken toes.

"Madame, could James and I have a moment to ourselves?" Dumbledore sweetly asked the nurse.

She looked upset, insisting that James needed his rest, but in the end agreed that James and the Headmaster could talk as long as they needed. She would be in the other room, trying to find anything to revive Lily form her current state.

Once the door was closed tightly, James bluntly stated, "I killed her."

"James, Lily is going to be fine," Dumbledore reassured him.

"Not Lily…Rander."

James looked at Dumbledore, not sure what to expect. After all, he did it out of his and Lily's own defense.

"I was afraid that was what had occurred," Dumbledore replied.

"She was a deatheater. Lily and I saw her talking to You-Know-Who in the fireplace," James told the Headmaster.

"I'm aware of that," Dumbledore sadly answered.

"You knew! And you hired her?" James asked, now thinking that his headmaster was truly insane.

"I found out this morning. I was going to turn her in to the ministry as soon as she came back here, which was supposed to be on Monday morning."

The two wizards sat in silence for sometime. Neither one sure as to what was needed to be said next.

After nearly an hour, James finally told Dumbledore the entire story. He went into every detail about the eavesdropping, and how Rander had tried to force the truth-telling potion into them. He told Dumbledore all about the curses and spells, images he never wanted to see again.

Once he was finished, Dumbledore said, "James, I'm very proud of you."

James stared in disbelief.

"Not every wizard or witch could have come up with solutions as fast as you did. Not every man would have been able to cope with all the emotions around you, and still have the bravery to fight the enemy even though loved ones were around," Dumbledore explained.

"It was the only thing I could do, fight back," James answered.

"No it wasn't. You could have left Miss Evans there to die. You could have agreed to join the dark side just to save your own neck. But you didn't. You chose to protect Miss Evans, the woman, who if I am not mistaken, you love very much. You chose to stand for your own beliefs, and not take the easy way out," Dumbledore earnestly said.

"I could've used my wand to stupefy her," James said, slight tears coming down his cheeks. "I, I…"

"I know," Dumbledore softly said, not needing another word spoken. "James, don't blame yourself. You saved Miss Evans life and your own. Who knows, if you hadn't gotten to her, ten people could have been killed by morning. She could have attacked the students left and right, and no one would know it was her."

"But still, I, I, I never wanted to be like that…a murderer."

"You are not a murderer in any sense, and I wish you could see that. If anything, James Potter, you are a hero," Dumbledore told him.

"It was my fault that Lily and I snooped anyways, she told me we shouldn't. She told me that we should just go back to Gryffindor and leave Rander to her business…I didn't want to though. I had a feeling that Rander was a deatheater, and I wanted to find out for sure. I wanted to confirm it to the Ministry," James cried out.

"James, stop blaming yourself," Dumbledore kindly said.

"I can't," James admitted. He couldn't shake the fact that Lily could have died, all because he was being selfish. He couldn't stop blaming himself for committing a murder, even if it was to save his and Lily's lives. He just couldn't.

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**Author's Note 2:** Hey guys! I really hope that you all liked this chapter! Just to let you all know, I found the spells on a website, which I will put in my profile. Please review!


	41. Rumors Spread Like Wildfire

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to sunlitmist, themaraudersaremine, milkywaypnay37, x0x-Mystique-x0x, nowthatspink, Ann, Miss Myrtle360, blondesRhot, trashcan, -Lily Evans 4 life-, LJ fan for life, and kiss67 for reviewing! It means the world to me! The greatest thing for me is your reviews (and thanks to LJ fan for life for recommending my story, I was both surprised and extremely happy, thanks!) All of you guys are simply amazing!

Miss Myrtle360: You have a good point there, to what Dumbledore could have done. But I've got two things to say to that: 1. Dumbledore's plan was to wait for her to arrive back at the castle, which was supposed to happen the next morning, so that once she got back he would be ready and waiting for her there with the Ministry. That way she would certainly be caught, not just the slight possibility that they would find her. 2. It was needed for the story!

-Lily Evans 4 life-: Sorry, but I have no clue what a beta is! I don't have one, and probably don't need one (I think I've obviously managed without one!) If you find out though, I'd be interested to know what they are too!

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As James headed back to Gryffindor, he still couldn't shake the feeling of murder out of his mind. Dumbledore had probably told him at least fifteen times that it couldn't have been avoided, that it was Lily's only chance to survive, and that if James hadn't done the murder first, he would have never made it out of that room alive. James knew that Dumbledore was correct about all of this, and that he should feel more like a hero than a villain. But his heart told him otherwise.

"Hippogriff," James said as he approached the Fat Lady.

The door swung open to reveal an empty common room. It was almost eerie at how deserted it was. The fire was low, as though it were about to go out. There were no bodies in the chairs, not even the look of an indented seat where someone just got up. There were no sounds coming from inside the dormitories, everyone was fast asleep. The sky outside was pitch black, it was a new moon that night, so not even the moon's glow reflected into the empty room.

And just as the common room, James was utterly alone.

He heard a noise coming from the glass windows, almost like a scratching noise. He turned his head to find an owl there, holding a small letter on his leg. James went to window and was astonished to see it was his mother's owl, Jove, outside.

He let him in, and quickly untied the letter from Jove's leg. He searched in his pockets for something to give the owl, but could find nothing for him to snack on. He shrugged his shoulders, and the owl flew off.

James looked down at the letter for a moment before ripping it open to read.

_James,_

_Sweetheart, your father and I just received a note from Dumbledore about, well, what happened. James, we are so proud of you. Not every seventh year student would have made it out alive, but you did. We truly are both amazed and delighted. Of course it was a tragic event for you, we both understand that greatly. On the other hand though, you are alive and safe, that's what most important to both of us. _

_When we received the note from Dumbledore we_ _didn't know what to expect. A letter waking us up in the middle of the night generally doesn't mean good news. It gave us quite the nasty shock. But after reading it, we were both so happy and proud of you. _

_I realize that you must be upset, which is very reasonable. But remember, you saved Lily's life, as well as your own. If it weren't for you, many more students could have been harmed. _

_James, remember, we love you very much and always will. And send our love to Lily, whom we have heard has received her potion and is expected to be just fine. _

_Love, _

_Mum and Dad _

_P.S. Your father thinks that you will make an excellent auror. _

James stared at the letter, despising his parents for being so ignorant of how he was feeling. They only mentioned two sentences out of the entire letter about how he was upset. And even that was followed up by more of the "don't feel sad" act. James hated that. Why couldn't anyone know how he was feeling?

The last line was what had really set him off though, "_P.S. Your father thinks that you will make an excellent auror._" Was that all his father could think of? Did he really only care about James's future career?

James couldn't believe them. He always thought his parents as understanding people who would know exactly what he wanted to hear and say it. Not say a bunch of crap that he already knew. As awful as it sounds, James couldn't help but think that for the first time in his life, his parents were a huge disappointment.

As frustrated as he was, he finally managed to go up to his dormitory and fall asleep.

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The next morning James was awoken by the sounds of his roommates. He could hear Peter scrambling through all his stuff, most likely searching for a book he misplaced. He heard Sirius whining about not wanting to go to class, and Remus was replying by telling him to get off his sorry ass and stop complaining.

Although he was awake, he didn't open his eyes. He didn't want his friends to notice that he was awake; in fact, he wanted them to forget about him and leave for the Great Hall without him. This, however, was not an option for the Marauders. They never left for breakfast without each other unless specified by the person not coming along.

"Wake up, Prongs," Sirius said.

James still didn't move.

"James, don't make us dump water on you again," Remus warned.

James grumbled a little, remembering the icy surprise wake-up that had came to quite a shock to him back in their fifth year. He had never been that grumpy toward his friends in his entire life before that incident, but he was that day. In fact, for nearly the entire morning he refused to speak to them, as childish as it was.

"Prongs," came Peter's warning voice.

"I'm up, I'm up," he grumbled.

"That's what we thought," Sirius said, a smile on his face. "Now come on, breakfast will only be out for twenty more minutes. And then we've got to face those dreaded classes. I mean Transfiguration with the strictest teacher, and then Potions with Rander, it's enough to make me want to kill myself."

At Rander's name, James thought he was going to be sick. The memory of last night, which had almost escaped his mind was back to haunt him. He remembered every step he took, every spell that left his lips, every action he made. He clearly remembered seeing his ex-professor fall to the ground, dieing instantly.

Then another thought entered his mind, back to Rander's and Voldermort's conversation. "Sirius, why didn't you tell me that you were related to Rander?" James asked.

Sirius went pale at the mention of his family. He hated them, every single member of the Black family, well with the exception of his uncle. All the others went to the Dark side, joining forces with Voldermort.

"How did you know that?" Sirius questioned.

"I'll tell you later," James replied.

"I, I never talk to her…She's my mother's sister. I never liked her, and she never liked me. We decided when she first started teaching here, two years ago, that we would pretend not to know each other. She sent me a letter saying so. I agreed to that, not wanting to be associated with any Slytherin, especially her," Sirius explained.

"Oh, well, I understand," James replied. "I was just curious."

"How did you hear that, James, you can tell me."

"I heard something I wasn't supposed, let's leave it at that. I'll tell you the rest later," James responded.

"Alright…Well, you better get up, we've got class soon."

"I'm not going."

"What do you mean you're not going?" Remus asked.

"I'm not going," James answered.

"Are you sick or something?" Peter asked.

"No, I'm fine."

"Is something wrong?" Remus asked.

"No."

"Are you sure? Did you and Lily get in a row or something?" Sirius asked.

James pressed his eyes shut at the thought of Lily. Last he heard was that her potion was on the way to Hogwarts and after she took that she would be fine. It would be a matter of hours, maybe days before she would wake up. Madame Lingwood assured him though, that she would be perfectly normal and healthy in no time at all.

"No," James answered, "I just don't feel like going."

"Prongs, you can't just go around missing classes, especially since you're Head Boy," Remus reminded him.

"I know, but I just can't go to them right now. I'll tell you guys the rest later," James answered.

"Fine, but what do you want us to tell McGonagall? Because you bloody well know that she'll ask us right away," Sirius said.

"You don't have to say anything, she won't ask," James assured his friend.

"James, are you sure you're okay?" Remus asked, a concerned look on his face.

"Yeah, I'm okay…you guys had better go though, McGonagall will kill you if you're late one more time," James replied.

"Um, alright then, if you need us, just come find one of us," Peter told his friend.

As the three boys left James, they couldn't help but wonder what was wrong. They knew that something was up, they could tell by not only the way he was acting, but by the fact that he didn't share information. He did that often when something was bothering him, shut away the rest of the world.

When Sirius, Remus, and Peter entered the Great Hall, they were surprised to see how chaotic it was. Students were talking, obviously sharing news and stories. What about though, none of the Marauders knew.

"Scarlett, what's going on?" Remus asked as he plopped down across from her.

"You didn't hear? Well, out of the blue, all Potions classes have been cancelled. Dumbledore made an announcement earlier saying that Rander wasn't here any longer and Potions is cancelled they find another teacher," she responded.

"What?" all three boys asked.

"Yeah, Danny Moran, the sixth year in Hufflepuff, said that he went down to the classroom this morning and the room had caution tape all around it, and no one can get in unless authorized to do so. He said he saw ministry workers in there, and that the room was all messed up. There were bottles smashed, books flown from the shelves, everything was out of place... Odd, isn't' it," Scarlett commented.

"Yeah, very," Sirius agreed.

"Aubrey Quinn says that Rander was death eater, and she was caught by the ministry. And that's why her room is being searched," Marissa added.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Sirius replied.

"Of course, there are so many outrageous rumors going around though… Ed Keegan reckons that she was killed, right here in the castle. He swears that one of the teachers did her in. And then there's that one going around that she and Dumbledore got into a duel, and he killed her. And Lee Lawrence said that she heard that a student killed her, because she gave him a bad test grade…So of course, the likelihood of them being true is very rare, but that's what I've heard in the last half hour," Marissa told the group.

"Wow," Peter said.

"Oh, there you guys are," Gracie said as she popped in near the group. "I was looking for you guys, have any of you seen Lily?"

"Nope," all three Marauders responded.

"That's odd…I never heard her come into the dorm last night, and when I woke up she wasn't there either," she said, then looking at Scarlett and Marissa she asked, "Did either of you hear her come in last night or leave this morning?"

"Now that you mention it, no," Scarlett said, worry on her face. Marissa nodded her head no.

"That's odd, really odd," Gracie commented.

"She wasn't with James, was she?" Marissa asked.

"No, not that we saw anyway," Remus answered.

"But, that makes sense. Maybe the reason James didn't' get up this morning was because he was hiding Lily!" Peter exclaimed, happy that he came to such an elaborate conclusion.

"Hmm, maybe," Remus said. "Anyway though, I'd rather not talk about the two of them hiding in his bed, it's really rather disturbing breakfast conversation."

"Good point," Peter agreed, while Sirius nodded his head. All three girls just rolled their eyes at that comment.

As they heard the bell ring, all six students rushed off to Transfiguration, and barely made it there in time. Surprisingly, McGonagall didn't ask about James's absence or Lily's for that matter. Instead she carried on like any other class, ignoring the thought that two students were missing.

Unsurprisingly though, was that the rumors kept on increasing. Some students were even claiming that they crept out of bed and saw Rander and Dumbledore duke it out with their wands, and Dumbledore just barely winning. Some students even went as far as Rander was actually a vampire and the ministry discovered her secret and took her away from the school.

Everywhere you turned there were rumors spreading like wildfire. Every student was dieing to know the truth, but none of them knew it, none but James Potter.

And he was certainly far away from all of the commotion caused by his classmates. Instead, he was in the infirmary, watching over Lily's peaceful slumber. As he sat at the head of her bed, he traced a small outline of her face, wanting to take in everything about her, the way her face curved, the length of her eyelashes, even the smoothness of her skin.

He heard a small moan come from deep inside her body, and she twisted her torso slightly. Her eyes then fluttered open, revealing the pools of emeralds that James adored so much.

"James," she whispered.

"I'm here," he softly told her.

"I knew you would be," she replied, a weak smile forming at her lips. She gently took his hand in her own, holding in softly, her strength just barely allowing this action.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm okay, just a little tired," she answered.

"I, I don't remember how we got away, James…I just remember seeing her wand pointed directly at me, and I fell to the ground, very hard, and then the next thing I know and I'm here, with you," she told him.

"He bent forward and kissed her hand, and then said, "Lils, it was scary, I'm not going to lie to you. I was scared that I was going to lose you forever." From there he explained everything that happened, from right after the curse was put on her until the teachers found him crying for help.

"James, wow," she whispered.

"I know…but let's not talk about that right now, I don't want to. I just want to be with you right now," he told her.

She smiled up at him and then slowly shifted her body over to one side of the bed, allowing room for him to sit next to her. As he slid onto the bed, she rested her head against his chest, feeling as he took in each breath. She moved up and down to beating of his heart, until sleep overcame her once more.

James didn't mind though, he enjoyed every moment of it. Now, there truly was no one but him and Lily. There was no one to remind him of what he did, no one to tell him he was a hero when he didn't feel that way at all, no one to interrupt a perfect moment with Lily.

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**Author's Note 2: **Okay, well I hope you all liked the chapter! I know that it certainly wasn't action packed like the last chapter, but I still hope it was enjoyable. Please review!


	42. Life's Too Short to Dwell on the Past

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to milkywaypnay37, trashcan, miss-mags-ak, riotgirl72, blondesRhot, sunlitmist, Miss Myrtle360, and ilovedrew88 for reviewing. I was really discouraged about the lack of reviews for the last chapter, so I especially want to thank the eight of you, because you are all great. And if it weren't for you all, I probably wouldn't have been inspired to write another chapter for this story for quite a long time. So, thanks once more for reviewing chapter 41, it truly does mean the world to me.

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"Madame Lingwood, can I leave now?" Lily asked the school nurse. She had been in the Hospital Wing for three days already, and she was very anxious to leave.

"Well, I suppose so…But the second you don't feel well, I want you right back here," Madame Lingwood responded.

"I promise," Lily replied as she hopped out of the bed and onto her feet.

Lily was excited as she left the Hospital Wing behind her. She wanted to sleep in her own Hogwarts bed. She wanted to spend time with her friends without having to worry about interruptions. But most of all, she wanted to spend time alone with James.

Over the three days, she had only been truly alone with him once. And after he told her everything that happened, she ended up falling to sleep with her head resting on his chest. All the other times he came to visit, other people were around as well.

The moment she stepped into the corridor, she was bombarded with questions. "Did Rander really use an Unforgivable Curse on you?" "Is it true that Potter killed her to save your life?" "What was it like being under the Imperio Curse?"

Her head was spinning, how did so many people know about what happened? Just as the question popped into her head she regretted even thinking it. This was Hogwarts, and news here traveled fast. Once one person knew something, everyone knew it.

Lily could shrug off people to ignore answering their questions, but there was nothing she could do about the stares she was receiving. Students would stop talking as soon as they saw her, as if they were afraid to resume their discussion about what happened in the dungeons. Other kids watched her as if she were a weapon of mass destruction, just waiting to be set off.

Lily hated this even more than the questions. She hated the attention she was getting, hated the looks and stares. She hated it all.

She was grateful, however, when she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. "Hippogriff." An instant later, the door to the Common Room opened and Lily crawled through the opening.

"Lily!"

Lily turned her head to see Gracie running toward her.

"Oh my God, Madame Lingwood let you out! How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Lily answered.

"You certainly wouldn't believe everything that's going on in the castle. I know Scarlett tried to explain last night, but you really have to see to believe it. I mean, Dumbledore is still working on finding another Potions teacher. He claims that he has someone in mind, but he could just be saying that," Gracie said.

"Oh wow," was all Lily could think of saying.

"I know."

"Um, listen, Gracie, is James around?" Lily asked.

Gracie looked offended that one of her best friends wasn't interested in talking to her at the moment, but answered anyways, "I haven't seen him…I saw Sirius go off with some fifth year a while ago though, and then later I saw Peter and Remus leave. But I haven't seen James. Sorry."

"It's okay, I'll look around for him…And then tonight you and I can stay up all night talking, I promise," Lily said, knowing that it would make up for her not sticking around at the moment.

"Alright," Gracie agreed, and then added, "You may want to check his dorm room. I mean, I know you're technically not supposed to go up there, but there's nothing to stop you."

"Thanks, I'll do that," Lily said, giving Gracie a small smile of appreciation.

Lily wandered over to the other side of the Common Room, closing in on the Boy's Staircase. She took a quick glance around the room, and once she made sure that no one was watching her, she bolted up the stairs.

Unfortunately, the Marauders all shared the room near the very top, which meant a long hike up for Lily. It seemed like ages before she reached the sign that read, "Seventh Year Boys Dormitory: James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, & Peter Pettigrew." Lily had often wondered how the boys managed to get a room together, just the four of them. Most rooms had five students, but they only had four. She decided this wasn't the time to ask though, and knocked on the door.

"It's open," came James's leisurely voice.

Lily slowly opened the door and stepped inside, shutting it tightly behind her. "Hey," she said, making him jump at the sound of her voice.

"Lily, what are you doing here?" he asked, shoving whatever item his hand previously held under his pillow.

"I convinced Madame Lingwood that I was okay and ready to leave," Lily honestly said as she walked closer to him. She took a seat on his bed, right across from where he was sitting.

"Do you feel okay?"

"Yes, James," she answered.

"Come here," he said, beckoning her closer to him, "You know I don't bite."

Lily let out a small laugh, but crawled across his bed until she was sitting next to him. He turned his head and kissed her softly on the lips, not wanting to let the kiss end.

She smiled as they finally did break apart. "I've missed this," she told him.

"What? Kissing? Because you know I'm up for it all the time," he told her, only half joking.

"No, you pig, I mean just hanging out, just the two of us," she responded.

He smiled at her, knowing exactly what she meant. Lately they didn't have a lot of time to spend alone together, why, he didn't know though. But he did miss it too. If he could have it his way, he would spend all his time with Lily.

"Is it wrong to feel guilty? He finally asked her.

"About what?"

James stared at her, shocked that she didn't know what he was talking about. "The stuff with Rander."

"James, you did the only thing that you could do," she told him.

"But, but I killed her," he solemnly said.

"You saved my life and probably yours too. It was self defense, you had no other choice."

"I could have done it differently, I know I could have," he said, ignoring her last response.

Lily only sighed, this really wasn't what she imagined them to talk about.

"What if I had just stupefied her instead, or even Petrificus Totalus. Anything but what I did do," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"James, listen to me, you did the right thing. You should be happy, not all sad and depressed," she told him.

"I'm not sad and depressed," he crossly replied.

"Okay, fine, but either way, you shouldn't blame yourself," she responded.

"I'm not blaming myself!" he shouted. "Why does everyone think that I'm blaming myself?"

"James, calm down."

"Seriously, first Dumbledore, then Remus, then Sirius and Peter, and now you! What's wrong with you people?"

Lily squeezed her lips together in both anger and disgust. She couldn't believe the way he was acting, especially it being her first day out of the Hospital Wing. He was supposed to be grateful to see her, wanting nothing more than to kiss her silly, and be perfectly the way she left him. He was none of these things though. Instead he was bitter and cold, barely even caring that she could have died if it wasn't for him saving her life.

"You're overreacting," she simply stated.

"I'm overacting? I'm overreacting?" he said, the second time he said the phrase his voice got comparably louder. "No, I'm not the one that's overacting; it's all of you people! You just think that it's okay that I killed her! For God's sake, it's not okay. I committed murder, and I'm only seventeen!"

"Listen to me, James. Yes, you did kill her, but you did it for good reasons! I mean, she was a Death Eater! She could have killed half the student body if you hadn't stopped her! She could have let You-Know-Who into the castle, and he could have killed everyone!" Lily told him.

"Just, just shut up," he told her.

Lily looked as if she had just been slapped across the face. She had never felt so offended in her entire life as she did at that moment, and that included all the times that the Slytherins called her a Mudblood.

"Shit, Lily I didn't mean it like that," James said.

"No? Then how'd you mean it?" she crossly asked.

He didn't say anything, obviously trying to figure what to say next.

"That's what I thought. Because you know, shut up only has one meaning," she bitterly told him.

"Oh, come on Lils, don't give me this crap, not now," he said.

"Crap?"

"Shit," he swore again. "That's not what I meant to say, I swear it wasn't… God, I don't know what I'm even saying. It's this whole thing that's going on, it's driving me crazy. Crazy with grief, crazy with bitterness, just plain crazy."

She didn't say anything, but didn't move from where she was sitting either.

"I'm sorry, Lils, I really am…I just, I want it all to go away."

"I know you do," she answered, "But I can't do anything about it."

"Just tell me how you really feel about what I did," James said.

"I've already told you."

"No, truthfully."

"What? What do you want me to say? Do you want me to say that you did an awful, awful thing?" she asked, her voice was loud, not caring that people outside the room could probably hear her.

"I knew it! I knew you thought that," he sadly said.

"What? James no, you are such an idiot. I already told you what I thought." She angrily told him. "James, I think you were very brave. I think if it weren't for you, I'd be dead right now."

"But," he interrupted, "If it weren't for me, then you'd never have eavesdropped and been caught!" It was the first time he actually said the words aloud. The thought had been presented in his mind many times before, but never did he actually truly say the words to another human being.

"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been put under the Imperio Curse. You would've been okay from the start." He couldn't help what happened next, and was very embarrassed and ashamed for it, but he let a few tears fall from his eyes.

Lily's heart melted at once. She had never seen him vulnerable before. He was always strong, brave, and independent.

She immediately put her arms around him, pulling his head down to her shoulder. "James," she said after a couple minutes went by, "Is this why you feel guilty?"

He released himself from her grip, backing up a few feet. His eyes were dry now, but it was obvious that he had just been crying.

"Lily, you could've died."

"I didn't though, James, I didn't. I'm here and perfectly healthy and fine," she told him, taking his hand in her own. She squeezed it tightly, trying to reassure him.

"What if you weren't okay though?" he asked, not looking her in the eye at all.

"Don't dwell on what could have happened, life's too short for that," she said. "All that matters is what did happen, and James, I'm okay, you're okay, and that's all that matters."

"But."

"But nothing," she said, cutting him off before he was able to finish the sentence.

He stared at her, from any other person, that answer wouldn't have been acceptable. But hearing it from her changed his perspective completely. It was amazing how that worked; hearing something from one person and disagreeing, but then hearing it from someone you love and you let it pass without any other thought.

"Thanks," he said.

Lily moved closer to him and laid a kiss on his cheek. "Think nothing of it," she sweetly replied.

He turned slightly toward her, and looked deep into her eyes. He loved everything about her, from the way she could easily make him laugh, to the way she could make him feel like there was no one else in the entire world except the two of them.

"I love you," he whispered into her ear before kissing her gently on the lips. He could feel her smile beneath his kiss, and he knew that he was smiling as well.

Her arms went around his neck, pulling their bodies closer to each other. His own arms found their place on her the small of her back. It wasn't long until the couple found themselves lying down, James trapping Lily beneath him.

He stopped kissing her for a second, just to look down at her. Her eyes opened, and a smile appeared on her face. Her cheeks were pink and her lips were slightly swollen.

He propped himself up with one arm, and with his free hand took a few pieces of Lily's astray hair and placed them behind her ear. Then he gently traced her cheekbone with the tips of his fingers. "You're beautiful," he whispered.

"James."

"Yes?"

"I love you," she whispered back to him.

He lent forward and kissed her once more. His hands went back to her body, and she gently kissed him back.

Soon enough James felt his natural instincts begin to kick in and he began to fumble with her robe, taking it off and revealing her ordinary school clothes.

He felt her slightly stiffen below him and he stopped what he was doing immediately. He stopped kissing her and looked straight into her eyes, "Sorry," he told her, remembering that the last time he attempted this she gave him an hour long speech about her morals.

"Shh," she whispered and placed one finger to his lips. "Forget what I said."

He cocked his eyebrows slightly, showing that he was both intrigued and surprised. Lily smiled up at him and then pulled his lips closer to her own.

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**Author's Note 2:** Thanks for reading chapter 42 of Loving You! I know, it wasn't very action packed, but I was listening to love songs when I wrote it. Anyways, please remember to review!


	43. I Have Faith Too

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to ilovedrew88, blaiselover, milkywaypnay37, Brighton Baby, PruePotter, riotgirl72, Killerstorm, i heart pink, Stella9876, chickenspaz911, Steph xoxo, blvd, Juicilyn, amber, Miss Myrtle360, and jenn for reviewing! You guys are truly the best!

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Lily smiled as she cuddled closer to James, feeling the warmth from his body as she edged closer. She placed her hand on his chest and watched as it went up and down to the rhythm of his breaths. She could feel that his body was still a little sticky with sweat, but she didn't mind. She enjoyed the texture of his bare skin in her hands; it made her feel even closer to him than she really was.

"What're you thinking about?" he asked as his hand brushed away strands of hair from her face.

"You," she answered.

"Good," he sweetly replied before laying a small kiss on the top of her head.

His hand then went to her forearm, and although he knew how smooth her skin was, he was till shocked as his fingers touched the silkiness of her body.

"I could stay here forever," he told her. And it was completely true. If he had it his way, time itself would stop, just leaving them to the world. He wanted nothing more than to be with Lily, just lying with her all day and all night long. He wished that his friends wouldn't come up to the room they shared, he wanted time alone with Lily, he wanted this time alone with Lily.

"Mmm, I know," she answered before burying her face into his sheets.

His hand then made its way to her exposed back, bringing warmth to it. This too felt exactly like silk, smooth as a baby's bottom. He gently massaged her back, rubbing it with tender love and care.

He didn't notice it at the moment, but she was drifting off to sleep, dreaming about him, dreaming about them, dreaming about what they just did.

He kissed the top of her head once more before he too drifted off into a deep slumber, his arm still around Lily, holding her tightly even as they slept.

---

Of course, the moment couldn't last forever though, both Lily and James knew that. Although they were reluctant to say goodnight and part from each other.

"James, I don't want to go, but it's nearly eleven," Lily told him.

"I don't want you to go," he whined, pinning her down on his bed.

"James, I don't want to go either, but your friends will probably be coming up to go to bed soon, and I know that my friends want to see me," she told him.

"Can't we just forget about al of them?" he hopefully asked.

"I wish," she answered, "But James, we'll do this again, I promise."

"Alright, let me just get up and I'll walk you downstairs," he replied.

"I think I can manage," she whispered into his ear before passing him his button down shirt.

"No, no, I'm not going to be the guy that lets you walk the walk of shame down from a guy's dormitory,' he told her as pulled on his shoes.

"It's late, I'm sure most people have gone to sleep."

"Nope, I'm walking you down," he told her, not letting her win this one.

"Okay, fine," she said, giving in to his simple request.

"Oh, and you might want to brush your hair," he told her while passing her a brush he saw on the floor. He wasn't sure who it belonged to, as he certainly found non use for one. No matter how hard he tried, his hair wouldn't be tamed.

She caught the brush in her hands, but didn't use it, not until she walked toward the door and saw her reflection in the mirror. She nearly screamed when she saw what a wreck her hair was.

"Oh my God, it looks like your hair, only red and longer," she said in horror.

"Hey, that's a little harsh," he said, only half joking.

"Only kidding," she replied, but then looking at her reflection once more she easily changed her mind. Her hair was a wreck. It was messy and knotted in all sorts of places. In fact, it looked like it couldn't' be controlled at all.

However, she did her best to tame it with the brush. But in the end pulled out her wand, transformed a piece of parchment into a hair elastic and decided it looked somewhat better.

"Hey, that's my paper," he teased.

"I'll buy you a new one," she said with a laugh.

"Okay, come on, let's get out of here," he told her, grabbing a hold of her hand as he spoke. The couple then made their way down the many flights of stairs.

Lily soon realized why James had wanted to come with her. Several of the doors were wide open, leaving a nice view for people to look in and out of. A few boys let out a small laugh at the sight of them, knowing exactly what they had done. Other guys yelled out rude comments, such as, "Nice one Potter," or "Way to go, Potter." Lily could only blush as she passed each open door, but James was much more confident. He would yell back to them, "Say one more thing and I'll write you up for ten nights worth of detention," or "Make one more comment and be sure to know that I won't let you off the hook next time I see you sucking the lips off of some poor girl in McGonagall's classroom." That would shut them right up.

Needless to say, Lily was quite relieved to see the common room. And was even happier to see that its only occupants were Sirius, Remus, and Peter. All three boys smirked as they walked past Lily and James, Sirius even having the nerve to jokingly blow a kiss at them as he walked off.

"Sorry," James said, "I'll hex him when I get upstairs for that one."

"Don't bother," Lily replied.

"Well, I guess this is it then," he told her, now holding both of her hands in his own.

"Goodnight, James," she told him before leaning forward and lightly kissing him on the lips.

"Goodnight," he said once they broke apart, letting go of her hands as well.

She turned around, toward the girl's dormitories, with a large smile on her face. She loved him so much, she just couldn't get over the fact.

Little did she know, but James too was smiling as he watched her leave the common room. In fact, his smile lasted the rest of the night.

Lily climbed the many stairs up to her dorm room, and when she finally reached her destination, she nearly jumped at the commotion in front of her. All at once her four best friends turned on her, asking how she was, asking where she was, and asking how James was handling everything now.

"Slow down," she said, the smile still not leaving her face.

"Lils, are you okay?" Scarlett asked once she realized that no one else was going to say anything.

"Yeah, I'm good. I'm better than good," she replied.

"Where were you?" Zoë asked next.

"I was with James," she answered.

"And how is he holding up?" Gracie asked.

"He's really good, fantastic actually," Lily answered. She gave a heartfelt sigh, and the smile still remained on her lips.

"Did you have sex?" Marissa asked.

All the girls stared at her, but none said anything to her comment. They were all shocked by the bluntness of her question.

"Lily wouldn't have sex with James yet," Gracie finally said.

"Yeah, I highly doubt it, she's not you," Zoë said, teasing her twin sister about her own choice of men.

"Well, sorry for asking. But I mean, look at her! She's got that smile plastered on hr face, her eyes are sparkling, her hair's a bloody mess, and Lils, I think you missed a button," Marissa added, pointing to Lily's shirt.

Lily gasped as she looked down, seeing exactly what Marissa had noticed. The second button from the top was in the hole for the third button, and all the way down the pattern was followed.

"Oh my God, did you?" Gracie asked.

Lily's entire face turned beet red as she nodded her head forward, admitting her newest secret to her four best friends.

"Oh my God! Lily, this is so exciting," Marissa said. "You're not a virgin anymore, welcome to the club."

"You've just met the leader," Zoë commented, pointing her thumb in the direction of her sister.

"Shut up, Zoë," Marissa snapped.

"How was it?" Scarlett asked, "Better than or worse than you expected?"

"Oh my God, I can't believe you're asking," Lily said, truly shocked at the question.

"Oh, just come on and tell us," Gracie exclaimed.

"Okay, okay, it was, well it was amazing. He's incredible. I just, I can't believe it actually happened. I mean, I've loved him for such a long time, but now, it's like wow. I loved him for his personality before, but now, I mean, wow, it just brought our relationship up to a whole new level, and I love it," Lily admitted.

"I'm so proud!" Marissa exclaimed, getting up from her spot and giving Lily a gigantic hug.

"Ouch, you're hurting me," Lily said.

"Oh, sorry," Marissa apologized.

"You know, I think I'm going to be sick," Zoë said.

"Why?" the remaining four girls asked.

"James is my captain at quidditch, and now, after hearing this, I don't think I'll be able to look at him the same way," Zoë replied with a laugh.

"Deal with it," Lily joked as all five girls laughed along with Zoë and Lily.

After some time went by, Lily said, "Seriously though, it's still hard to register that in my mind."

"It always is," Marissa replied.

"Well, not only that we did it, but also how much I love him. I mean, I always knew that I loved James to pieces, but now it seems different. It's like a more matured love," Lily said, hoping that it all made sense.

Seeing the looks on her friends' faces, she knew she needed to expand a little bit.

"It's just that, for the first time in my life, I think I've realized to what degree I love James. I've always wanted to be with him, for as long as possible. But I don't really think I ever thought about us after Hogwarts. You know, how long are he and I going to be together," Lily told her friends.

"I think you'd better ask him," Gracie said while pointing to the window.

The remaining four girls all turned their heads toward the window and saw James Potter flying toward their room.

"What is he doing?" Lily asked, very surprised to see him there.

"I'd say he came to see you," Scarlett replied.

"No kidding," Lily retorted, smiling at her friend as she spoke though.

Lily then went to the window and opened it up, allowing herself an even clearer view of her boyfriend. "What're you doing?" she yelled out to him.

"What's it look like?" he yelled back as he came even closer to the windowsill.

"James, we just saw each other," she said with a slight giggle.

"I know, but I wanted to see you again," he answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"James, you know I hate flying," she told him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"I'm well aware, that's why we're only using it for transportation," he replied.

"James," she crossly said.

"Do you trust me?" he asked.

"Well, of course I do," Lily answered.

"Then get on the broom, and hold tight," he responded.

"Oh God," she muttered as he flew even closer to the window and pulled her out in front of him. "James, what are you doing? This isn't how it worked the last time."

"Yeah, but I've got you, so trust me with this," he responded while controlling the broom.

Lily could feel the hot air from his breath tingle her neck as he flew the broom. His strong arms supported her on either side, making sure that she was safe as possible.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"You'll see," he answered.

It was only a couple minutes before James started to guide the broom downward, but to be honest, Lily was actually enjoying her time on the ride. She had always hated flying, but right then, she loved looking at the magnificent view it gave her. From the broom she could see Hogsmeade, the lampposts lighting the streets. There were a few shops that were actually lit, but Lily guessed that they were just the pubs.

"We're here," James told her once they landed on the soft, green grass that surrounded the lake.

Lily looked slightly confused and asked, "James what are we doing here?"

"I don't know, it's just a place to be," he answered.

"You dragged me out here for no reason at all?" she questioned.

"No, I dragged you out here because I love you, and wanted to be with you," he answered, not taking his gaze off of the lake.

Lily smiled at his answer and then cuddled up closer to him, creating a blanket of warmth between them. "Have you ever thought about the future?" she asked him.

"The future? Loads of times," he answered.

"I mean really think about it," she told him.

"Yeah, I know I want to be with you, and I'm going to be an auror," he answered.

"How do you know we'll be together after we leave Hogwarts?"

"Because I love you, and loving you will bring us together," he replied.

"What if we go our separate way though?"

"We won't," he simply replied.

"But how do you know?"

"I know, because I have faith. I have faith that we belong together."

"I have faith too," she told him.

James smiled at her answer.

"But where do you see yourself in twenty years?" she asked.

"With you," he said.

"I'm serious, really think about it, where do you see yourself in twenty years from now?"

James did think about it for real this time and then answered, "I see myself with you, the most beautiful wife a guy could ever ask for. And we've got two kids, the oldest one, a girl that hopefully looks just like you, is out of Hogwarts. She's successful, for just getting out of school a year ago anyway. She's got a boyfriend, but I don't like him one bit. And then there's out second kid, a boy that can ride a broomstick just as well as me. He's captain of the Quidditch team, and is a chaser, just like me. And of course we've got an owl for everyone in the family. I've got a good job, one that lets me provide for my family. And of course Sirius lives right next door, with his wife and kids that are our kid's age. Did I mention that our daughter's boyfriend, the one I don't like that much, is Sirius's son. That's why I don't like him, he's just like his dad, a ladies man."

Lily gaped at him, not realizing that he actually thought about this kind of stuff.

"What do you see?" he asked.

Lily smiled before beginning her dreams, "I'm with you, and we're very happy together. We've still got the same sparks and dreams that we've got now. We have two, maybe three kids. They're all at Hogwarts, two girls and a boy. The boy is a handsome young man, just like his daddy. All our kids are loved, we're happy together, just as a family. We've got a good sized house, nothing too flashy. Just a simple house with a white picket fence. Maybe we'll have a dog, and he'll bring a smile to our kid's faces when they al play outside in the backyard."

"That sounds nice," he told her.

"So does yours," she told him.

They both sat there for a moment, not saying anything at all, just listening to the crickets and the breathing of their loved one.

"You really do see us together though?" Lily asked once again.

"Lils, I can't imagine us not being together."

"Good, because after today, waking up in your arms, I don't think I could imagine not doing it everyday for the rest of my life," she honestly told him.

**

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**Author's Note 2:** Hey guys, I hope you all liked the chapter! I know, once again not full of action, but I hope that's okay with everyone! And I'm very sad to report that I just realized that this story is probably almost over! My goal is to make the story at least 100,000 words, and I think that'll happen after about ten chapters! Of course, I do know where I want to end it, so I won't stop at that number, I'll continue until the end. But I've only got two more huge things planned before the ending! Ahh! Anyways, please remember to review, it'll make the chapters come out sooner!


	44. Life's Not Fair

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to Juicilyn, magicmilkypnay37, blvd, Miss Myrtle360, x0x-Mystique-x0x, i heart pink, dreamergirl86, MissMrprk, blaiselover, ilovedrew88, chickenspaz911, PruePotter, WhiteCamellia, †®©ÿ, Prongs76, Lis, Katie Pie, me, kkroonie, and trashcan for reviewing! You all are so incredible!

_PruePotter_ Good question, the story will end at the end of Lily and James's seventh year. I honestly don't think I have enough ideas for this to last until their deaths! Or at least any good ideas and I don't want to ruin the whole thing by adding crappy ideas!

_Prongs76_: Wow, you and PruePotter had nearly the same question! So, I'll say once more, this will end at the end of seventh year, not their deaths. Sorry if that's not the answer you wanted to hear!

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"I can't believe it," Lily complained as she looked at the schedule for the morning. It was her first day back to classes after the incident with Professor Rander, and the new potions teacher had arrived. She was the only person in the entire school who wasn't able to enjoy the days off from everyone's least favorite class.

"Potions," Scarlett said as she looked over Lily's shoulder. "I was just getting used to not going."

"I agree," Zoë remarked as she took a large bite of pancakes.

"Who do you think the new teacher is?" Scarlett asked as she looked up at the faculty table.

Lily followed her gaze; she saw Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, and all the other usuals. But no one new was present. "Hmm, I guess we'll have to find out."

"I just hope whoever it is, is better than Rander," Zoë remarked.

"Well, considering Rander was a death eater, I highly doubt it'll be hard to get any worse. Unless Dumbledore is really off his rocker and hires You-Know-Who," Marissa said, finally looking up from her cereal and joining the conversation.

"No, you idiot, I meant work wise," Zoë retorted, "You know, Rander always gave a bitch load of work."

Before Marissa could say anything else, Lily jumped in and said, "Okay, knock it off you two. Let's just go to class."

Both girls huffed a little as they crossed their arms. Lily almost laughed when she noticed it. They looked exactly the same when they did so, which wasn't unusual considering they were identical twins. But it was funny that although they desperately tried to be different from each other, they were exactly the same in so many ways.

Lily was chatting away with Scarlett when the girls walked into class, she didn't even notice that James and the rest of the Marauders were already seated, or the new teacher standing at the front of the desk. That is, until she heard a familiar voice, "Miss Evans, I'm so thrilled to see that you've continued on with Potions."

Lily looked up and saw one of her favorite professors at Hogwarts, Professor Slughorn. "Professor!"

"Miss Evans, how are you?" he asked.

"Good, very good," she answered, and then asked, "And how are you?"

"Fine, fine, but Miss Evans, I heard about your incident with Rander," he said, adding a small gasp for a dramatic affect.

"Yes, it wasn't pleasant, but James Potter saved my life," Lily told him.

"I've heard," he answered.

"Anyways, what are you doing back so soon? I thought that you were supposed to be researching down in Brazil for another three years!" Lily asked.

"Well, I was. I was supposed to be there for a total of five years, but my sabbatical was cut short by three years. When the Headmaster told me of the incident, he got me thinking a lot. Of course, that was his plan all along, to get me thinking. So, anyway, I got to thinking about how much I missed the school and what a pleasure it was to teach such brilliant minds like yourself, so I decided to come back," Slughorn replied.

"And your research?" she asked.

"Well, let's just say that it wasn't going as planned," he informed her.

"How so?" she questioned.

"Well, I just couldn't get anything. The plant I need was so hard to find, not to mention that a researcher from France was there as well, taking it. So, it was hard to find, not to mention that some days were just too hot and the potion didn't function at that temperature. Basically, it was impossible to do under the circumstances," he honestly said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Professor," Lily told him.

"Not to worry, I'm back here now," he said with a bright and cheery smile. "And, I think it's time to catch up with my favorite students. What do you say you, me and our regular gang have tea in my office tonight?"

"Sounds wonderful," Lily told him, flashing him a smile as well.

"Well, I could just talk all day, Miss Evans, but looking at the clock, class starts now," he said, looking somewhat disappointed that he couldn't speak more with his star student any longer.

"Alright," Lily replied with a cheerful smile as she walked away from her professor and toward the desks.

She saw that Marissa and Gracie shared a lab bench, as did Zoë and Scarlett. She then saw that James and Remus sat next to each other, and in front of them were Sirius and Peter. She scanned the classroom and saw just one open seat. And that seat was next to Severus Snape.

She sighed as she took a seat next him. She hated when this happened. She hated not sitting next to her friends and winding up next to certain Slytherins that didn't catch her fancy.

"Ah, class, it feels so great to be back," Professor Slughorn told the class once everyone was seated. He then proceeded to give them today's assignment, which was to brew a counter-truth telling potion.

Lily, along with the rest of the class then gathered their ingredients and began to chop different herbs and creatures into many small pieces. As she began to stir her potion counterclockwise for fifteen strokes, she noticed that Snape took out a quill and was scribbling away at his book. He then began to stir his potion as well, and Lily watched in amazement as he did very different motions than the book directed. Instead of fifteen counterclockwise stokes, he did ten counterclockwise ones and then one clockwise stir. He did that once more, before continuing on with the potion.

"Why are you doing things differently than the book says to do?" she finally asked him. She couldn't stand to sit back and watch his genius work any longer.

He looked startled when he heard her voice, like a deer caught in the headlights of a car. "Are, are you talking to me?"

"Yes," she replied, smiling brightly at him.

"It works better than the book," he mumbled.

"How do you know?" she asked.

"Is my potion clear as water?" he smugly asked.

She glanced into his cauldron. She was amazed to see the results, it looked as if he'd poured a galleon of water in there instead of complicated ingredients.

"And what color is yours?" he asked once she looked up.

Lily then looked into her own cauldron. It looked murky, still a clear color, but certainly didn't look like fresh mineral water.

"That's how I know," he said, as if talking to someone of lesser intelligence than himself.

She didn't have time to say anything else though, because just then Slughorn walked up to their lab bench. He looked into Lily's cauldron and said, "Miss Evans, I must say, you're still as brilliant as ever."

"Thank you, sir," she replied with a smile on her face.

"Look at this, it's nearly perfect," Slughorn continued, "I say, Miss Evans, I wouldn't be surprised if you went into a profession dealing with Potions. You are a very witch."

"Thank you, sir," she said once again.

"I'm serious, with just one more attempt at this, I'd say you would have it mastered," he told her, boasting on and on about his favorite student's talents.

He then moved on and looked into Snape's cauldron, "Good work."

Lily looked shocked when Slughorn walked away. Snape's potion was perfect, and all he had to say was "Good work." And he looked at her potion, one that certainly wasn't as good as Snape's and wouldn't shut up about it.

"You look surprised," Snape commented, being somewhat decent toward her, which was a complete turn around from his usual attitude.

"That's all he has to say?"

"As per usual," Snape commented.

"But, but you're amazing at Potions," Lily said.

"But you're his favorite, so in his mind, you are far better at this bloody subject," he moodily stated.

"That's not right," she said.

"This is life, Evans, it's never fair, get used to it," he replied.

Lily only looked at him, unsure what to say next. She noticed that he stopped paying attention to her all together and went back to brewing his potion, she did the same. Questions still filled her mind though. Did Slughorn really pay no attention to the best potion brewer this school had seen in a long time, just because he was an oddball? Did Slughorn really prefer her work to his just because she was one of his favorite students?

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when she heard a knock on the dungeon's door. The entire class looked up from their work and watched as a small second year delivered a note to their professor. The girl scrambled out of the room quickly, only saying a polite goodbye to Slughorn.

Slughorn then looked down at the note and he got a very confused look on his face as he read the letter over once more.

"Mister Potter," he finally said, "It appears that the Headmaster would like to see you in his office."

All eyes then turned on James, and he heard Remus mutter, "What did you do now?"

"I don't know," he whispered back to his friend. He then got up from his seat and walked toward the front of the classroom. Slughorn quickly told him the password and then James slowly walked out of the classroom.

As James made his way through the hallways, he couldn't help but wonder what Dumbledore needed to talk about, especially something so urgent that he needed to be pulled from class. Not that James was complaining about getting out of class, he cherished every opportunity he got to be excused from class.

He automatically thought of the worst: Dumbledore found out about the Marauders secret. He found out that James, Sirius, and Peter had the capability of becoming animals. And even more, he found out that the three of them transformed once a month to comfort Remus during his transformations. Not to mention the fact that he found out about them running wild at night, into the forest and through Hogsmeade. Yes, that was it for sure. Plus, he chose to ask them all about it separately.

James then shook his head, that wasn't possible. Dumbledore didn't know a thing about their secret lives. Besides, he wasn't the type to interrogate people by themselves, and he certainly wouldn't pull James out of class for this.

He tried to think of what else it could be, but couldn't muster up a single thought. James was certainly doing well in all his classes; he was prone to achieving top grades in all his classes and on his NEWTS. He hadn't done any major pranks recently. In fact, James hadn't done anything wrong lately.

James then realized that he was now standing outside of Dumbledore's office. He was about to find out what was so important that he needed to be excused from class.

As he climbed the staircase, he knew what it was. It was about Rander. Dumbledore was just checking in on him, making sure that he was still okay and not depressed about the situation. Yes, that's definitely what this was all about.

"James," Dumbledore said once he saw the Head Boy enter the room.

James studied him for a bit, trying to discover if his Rander theory was correct. But for some reason, he immediately knew that it wasn't right. Dumbledore didn't sound cheerful as usual. Instead he sounded sad, almost as if he were sorry for James.

"Please, sit down," the Headmaster said.

James sat down across from Dumbledore. He was a bit uneasy now, maybe his theory about Dumbledore knowing the Marauders secret was correct after all.

"James," he said once more.

"Professor," James said. He didn't sound fresh when he said it though, he sounded sincere, as he wanted to know what was on his professor's mind.

Dumbledore let out a heavy sigh, but it was easily seen that he was very tense. It almost looked as if he had to do something that he really didn't want to do.

"James, I wish I had good news to tell you this morning," Dumbledore began.

"But you don't," James said, stating the obvious.

"No, no I don't," he gloomily replied.

James could feel his heart rate increase. He was now very worried that something was dreadfully wrong, never mind his petty ideas. He just didn't know what it was, and wasn't sure that he wanted to know what it was.

"It's about your parents," Dumbledore finally said.

"What about them?" James carefully asked, panic was written all over his face.

"There was an attack, a death eater attack."

"No, no," James said as he slowly shook his head.

"I'm afraid so."

"But, but, they're okay, right?"

"James, they didn't make it," Dumbledore answered. "I'm sorry."

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** I hope you all enjoyed chapter 44! I'm so sorry that it's taken so long to update, but I have two good reasons. One, I was just at/ still am at a HUGE part of Love Affair, and I needed to write before all the ideas that were in my mind went away. And two, I was suffering from a small writer's block for this story. But it's gone now, I promise! Anyways, I hope you'll all review, I'd love to hear your feedback!


	45. Gone

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to Juicilyn, ilovedrew88, sunlitmist, Lala Milk, Lis, kkroonie, PruePotter, blvd, JillZee, Amanda, x0x-Mystique-x0x, Miss Myrtle360, Katie Pie, chickenspaz911, laurahonest, JeNnIfEr88, Lady Knight -Kelani of Masc..., MissMrprk, luv24+Alias, piratequeen24, pecanpie, Elisabeth, phantom girl 759, James' gurrl, Becca, babi-gurl8907, trashcan, uponacloud920, riduculouslyriddikulus, 0pera3mm, Mahazzy, Meggily, PadfootsPrincess4Life, Steph, Bubblegrl4ever, serindraxx, rae89, Em, and Cookie-ER for reviewing chapter 44! Sorry about the delay…

* * *

As James sat alone his bedroom, he tried to replay his visit with the Headmaster over in his mind, trying to sort out everything he had just learned. Only bits and pieces of their conversation stayed with him though, only the large pieces of information, the rest was blocked out. _It's about your parents…a death eater attack…they didn't make it…Ministry's trying to sort everything out…late last night…the house was destroyed… _

It hit him like a rock, and he didn't know what to do. But as he looked around his room, the room he shared with three of his best friends, he knew one thing was for sure: he had to get out of here. He didn't want to deal with telling his friends, even though he recalled promising the Headmaster he would. James didn't want to deal with the sympathy looks the entire school would give him. Most of all though, he didn't want to deal with anything.

It was bad enough that the entire school saw him as the boy that murdered Rander, even if most of them did view it as a self-defense and heroic move. James wasn't sure of he could handle that in addition to the death of his parents.

He took a deep breath, put on his cloak, and packed a small bag of personal belongings. With one glance back into the room, he left, wanting nothing more than to escape his life.

**88888888888 **

Hours later, Sirius, Remus, and Peter sat in the Great Hall, curious as to the whereabouts of their friend.

"What do you think he did?" Peter asked, referring to the fact that Dumbledore requested to see him in his office.

"It's probably something about Rander," Remus answered.

"Yeah, probably, but that was six hours ago, do you think he's still in there?" Sirius asked.

"Where else could he be?" Peter questioned.

"Maybe he's with Lily," Remus suggested. "I mean, she's not over there," he pointed to the other end of the table where all of Lily's closest friends were seated. "He probably took her out on a date or something."

"Either that or they're up in his bed, doing the dirty stuff," Sirius remarked, a grin appearing on his face.

"You do know that if James ever found out you were imagining Lily naked, he'd probably kill you, right?" Remus said, wiping the grin off his friend's face.

"I wasn't thinking that," Sirius lied.

"No, then what were you thinking?" Remus asked, playing along.

"I was thinking about, umm, about this fabulous piece of apple pie and how good it's going to taste."

"I'm sure," Remus remarked.

"It's true," he answered, shoving a large bite of pie into his mouth.

**8888888888 **

James was, however, not with Lily as the boys had guessed. For Lily was attending one of Professor Slughorn's infamous dinner parties with his favorite students. Along with Lily, Jeff Crawford, a sixth year chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, was present from Gryffindor House. From Ravenclaw, Shaun Dunstan and Tracey Chapman, both seventh years. From Hufflepuff, Slughorn invited Sampson Jones, a fifth year, and Clara Davies, a sixth year. Finally, from Slytherin House, Royce Argyle and Monty Danvers, both members of the Slytherin Quidditch team.

Lily glanced around the room; it seemed smaller than when she was last here two years ago. She looked at the faces of the people surrounding her, all of them sharing the bond of being selected as Slughorn's favorite students. Yet, Lily didn't feel the same way she used to about being in the room.

She used to feel proud about being one of the elite members of the secluded group, now, however, she felt embarrassed, guilt about being there. She was forced to ditch her dinner with her friends to be here, with people that she cared less to be around.

In fact, as she looked around the circular table, Lily realized that she was only friends with Jeff and Tracey. She only began to get to know Jeff this year, as more than an acquaintance, because of James. As for Tracey, Lily was friends with her on the level of saying hi in the hallways, but not actually spending time outside of class together.

The there was Shaun, who Lily only prayed wouldn't make the situation awkward. But truth be told, the two hadn't spoken to each other since their relationship ended earlier that year. Therefore, Lily's wishes weren't looking prospective.

"How is everyone?" Slughorn asked, pouring out nine cups of tea, magically passing them around the table.

"Fine," they all answered in a chorus.

"How's Quiditch going for everyone?" Slughorn questioned.

"Not going to lie, it hasn't been the easiest year for Slytherin," Royce Argyle answered, shaking his head as he recalled his past match against Hufflepuff.

"You're just a sore loser," Clara Davies told him. "I think it's turning into an excellent competition this year. I mean, I don't play the game, I wish I had the talent to do so, but just from watching it looks great."

Lily looked at the girl sitting directly across from her; her blonde hair was pulled tightly back into a ponytail. She wondered when Clara suddenly became such a big talker, hogging most of the conversation, blabbering on and on about a topic that wasn't even directed to her.

"That James Potter, he's an incredible chaser," Clara said, snapping Lily back into reality at the sound of James's name.

"Yes and he certainly knows it too," Shaun remarked, smirking after his comment.

"Well, yes, but he is good, there's no denying that," Clara said.

"He's a great chaser, one of the best Hogwarts has seen," Shaun agreed. "It's just his personality, you know, he's as cocky as hell." He looked directly at Lily as he spoke, sending chills down her spine as his usual puppy dog brown eyes became hardened and cold.

"He's not cocky," Jeff quietly said.

"Excuse me?"

"I said he's not cocky," Jeff repeated, loud enough for the entire table to hear.

"Then how would you explain the gloating, the showing off, and everything else he does?" Shaun questioned, still not taking his eyes off Lily.

"He doesn't do that anymore," Lily said, finally speaking up. "You don't even know him, Shaun."

"Okay, okay, settle down," Slughorn said, breaking the tension that flew across the table.

The nine people sat around the table in silence for a moment before Lily asked, "So, Professor, are you going to go back to do research once the school year ends?"

"Hmm," he thought aloud, "I'm actually not sure. I do know that if I decide to leave again, it will only be for the summer, I'm going to come back next year to teach. But you know, Miss Evans, I really haven't a clue. But I suppose I still have two months to decide that."

"Two months, that's right," Shaun said, "Just two more months at this place until I graduate from here."

"It's weird, isn't it," Lily commented as she realized just how little time she had left at Hogwarts.

"Yeah, and then we'll have to go out and get jobs," Shaun answered, giving her a bewildered look.

The conversation carried on, and to Lily's delight, it became less and less awkward as each minute passed. She and Shaun had even managed to engage in a normal conversation, one that didn't end up in either one of them snapping at the other or referring to James.

"My goodness," Slughorn finally said, "would you look at the time! It's nearly nine o'clock…I suppose we should end this much needed gathering. I know you all have plenty of work to do for your studies, I am sorry to have kept you all so long."

After the eight students said their goodbyes to Slughorn, Lily began to make her way down the corridor and toward her dorm. However, before she went too far, she heard a male's voice call her name. She stopped and turned around to see the man who called her name. It was Shaun.

"Lily, wait up," he said. "If you don't mind, can I walk you back to Gryffindor?"

"Umm, okay," she answered. It was only him walking her there, it wasn't anything special. He probably wanted to talk about classes, perhaps ask her a question about the Charms assignment.

"Does he make you happy?" Shaun asked, avoiding her eyes.

"James?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"It's just, Lily, seeing you there tonight, and talking with you…I don't know, it was nice," he answered.

"Yeah, it was nice," she replied, not sure what else to say.

"You didn't answer my question," Shaun reminded her.

"He makes me happy."

"Are you sure?"

"Shaun, listen, you're a great guy, you really are, but I like James a lot. And yes, he makes me happy. He can make me laugh when I'm upset, or he can be there to just give me a hug when I need it," she told him.

"Didn't I make you laugh?"

"Shaun...," she began.

"Didn't I hug you when you needed it?"

"It's not the same," she said, not sure what else to say.

"Lily, you and I were great together," he said, ignoring her last comment. "It's been months and I still haven't met anyone that even compares to you."

"Shaun, why are you doing this?" Lily asked, he eyes pleading with his.

"Every time I see you with him, I feel the pain that I felt when we ended things, and it's been months…At nights sometimes, I dream about you, I dream about what it would be like if we were still dating. I even have dreams when it's just the two of us going out on a casual date, and just seeing your face makes me smile," he confided in her. "I just can't get you out of my mind. And tonight, I know you felt the same way, I could tell from your voice."

Lily stopped dead in her tracks, did she hear him right?

"Lily," he said.

"I'm sorry," was all she could muster up to say.

"I know it's a lot to take in, but if you would just consider it. I mean, we're so perfect for each other. And Potter, well, he's just a lady's man, a guy that won't last once Hogwarts is over," Shaun replied.

"I think you've walked me far enough," Lily boldly told him.

"Lily, please."

"I love James, and he loves me."

"Lily," Shaun said, moving closer to her, forcing Lily to take a step back. He kept on advancing toward her, making her back up until she was leaning against the corridor wall. He placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned forward, gently kissing her lips. It wasn't a forceful kiss, but a soft and tender kiss.

He took a step back from her, "Lily, just think about it."

She stood there, speechless as she watched Shaun leave her sight. She couldn't quite register in her mind what just happened. It was the most bizarre event that happened to her all year, and she was certain that many unusual, bizarre things happened to her that year.

Her fingers went to her lips, feeling the spot that his lips touched her. As she thought about it, she knew at once what her feelings were. The kiss wasn't like most kisses, it was very different. It wasn't about the softness or the tenderness that he showed; it was about the butterflies she felt in her stomach.

It was about the fact that there weren't any. She felt nothing when Shaun kissed her. There wasn't a rush of excitement, a feeling that even after several months of dating James, she still felt every time he kissed her. Her heart didn't speed up when Shaun approached her, nor did she feel light headed. She felt nothing about Shaun, and knew that nothing could change that.

She smiled as she ran down the hall, trying to catch up with him. "Shaun," she called out hoping to catch him before he got too far away.

"Yeah," he brightly said, stopping where he stood. "That didn't take long."

"I love James, and there's nothing you can say or do that's going to change that, sorry."

"Oh, I thought, well, I thought you were going to say something different."

"I'm sorry, Shaun, I really am. You're going to meet a fantastic girl someday, but it's just not me. And I truly am sorry," she told him.

"He's going to break up with you sometime though," Shaun said.

"You know what, he might, I mean we're seventeen, that's life. But until then…" she answered, trailing off toward the end of her small speech.

"I understand."

"I'm sorry."

"Whatever…I'll see you around."

"Yeah," she responded.

Once they went their separate ways, Lily couldn't help but smile. Shaun proved to her that she truly was in love with James Potter, not that she needed proof, but it was always reassuring. Just walking down the halls, she felt her stomach swell up with excitement. She wanted nothing more than to see James at that moment. She wanted to devour him in an enormous kiss, one that would make her heart melt.

Once she reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, she said the password and smiled as she climbed through the opening and into the common room.

"There you are," Sirius shouted as she walked into sight.

"Excuse me?"

"No, not you, James," he explained.

"What?" she asked.

"Okay, it's great to see you too Lily, but I've been looking for James for the past two hours," he answered. "Now get out of the portrait hole so he can get in here."

"Sirius, I don't know what you're talking about, he's not with me," she stated, moving out of the doorway and into the room.

"No, you guys were out on a date."

"No, we weren't. I was meeting with Professor Slughorn, I just left there like twenty minutes ago, and now I'm here," Lily told him.

"Then where the fuck is he?" Sirius wondered aloud.

"You mean he's not here?" she asked.

"No, I haven't seen him all day."

"He wasn't at dinner?" Lily asked, concern was written all over her face.

"No, that's why we thought he went out to dinner with you."

"Did you check in your dorm room?" she asked.

"Of course I did, what do you take me for a moron?" Sirius stated.

"That's really odd…You know, come to think of it, I didn't see James at lunch either," she informed him.

"Me neither."

"Sirius, where do you think he is?" Lily asked, her voice conveying her worry.

"I don't know," he answered. "Do you thin he may have gone to the Heads room?"

"I'll go check."

"Wait, the map," Sirius said, making it sound as if it was the most obvious solution in the world.

"The map," Lily repeated. "That's right; it'll say exactly where he is."

"Just wait here, I'll go check."

Lily took a seat in one of the plush, red chairs near the fireplace and stared into the flames. After a couple of minutes, she glanced toward the boy's staircase, hoping to catch sight of Sirius, but saw no one. She glanced at the clock on the wall and noted that fifteen minutes had passed since she sat down.

"This is ridiculous," she muttered to herself as she stood up and walked toward the staircase. She glanced around the room, and once she was confident that no one was watching, she darted up the stairs.

She knocked on the door once she reached the top of the stairs and entered as soon as she heard Sirius's voice. "What's taking so long?" she questioned.

"I can't find it," he told her, looking very pale.

"What do you mean you can't find it?"

"I mean, it's not here," he answered.

"Well, where is it?"

"I don't know," he sounded annoyed.

Lily walked over to James's bed, noticed the ruffled sheets and began to look around his area. In her search, she noticed that his was the only bed that wasn't made, which made her come to the conclusion that he was up here sometime today, after the house elves made all the beds.

Looking around, she could tell something wasn't right. Throughout all the clutter that surrounded his bed, something seemed to be missing, but she couldn't quite put her finger on exactly what it was. All she knew, was that it was something huge, something that James prized above most things.

After searching for half an hour, Lily sat down on James's bed and began to stare at the photographs lining his bedside table. There were four framed photos, one of James and the rest of the Marauders at James's house during the summer before their sixth year. Once was of him and his family, and from the looks of it, Lily guessed that James was only five years old when it was taken. The third picture was one of Lily and James together from Christmas break, when they were at his house. The last was of James playing Quidditch, last year's final game of the season.

"Oh my God," Lily finally said, realizing what was missing.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"His broom is gone," she softly responded.

The two friends locked eyes for a moment before they both ran to James's trunk at the end of his bed. Sirius took out his wand and muttered the spell to unlock it before lifting the wooden top and fumbling through its contents.

To the displeasure of both Lily and Sirius, the invisibility cloak was missing. They knew it meant only one thing. James was gone.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Okay, I'm so unbelievably sorry it's taken me this long to update. But I promise, and this time for real, that it won't take me this long to update next time! And I know that parts of this are kind of random, but when it comes to you, it comes to you, what can I say? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please review!


	46. The Search

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to MissMrprk, sunlitmist, riduculouslyriddikulus, dracosbabygrl, laurahonest, Heather Gernenz, Miss Myrtle360, WhiteCamellia, Untamed Loner, alli88, and shreya for reviewing! I really appreciate it!

* * *

"Oh my God," Lily said. She could feel her breathing become heavy, its rate increasing significantly. Her right hand flew to her forehead, where she pushed strands of red locks out of her eyes.

Sirius, still not wanting to believe his eyes continued to pour through James's trunk. He began to take things out of it, hoping that by removing the clutter, he'd find the invisibility cloak and broom at the very bottom of the wooden trunk. In a matter of minutes though, Sirius came to bottom of the trunk, without finding what he was looking for.

"What're we going to do?" Lily asked, worry written all over her face. "Where could he be?"

"I don't know," Sirius solemnly answered.

After a moment of silence, Lily said, "You know, maybe we're just jumping to conclusions. I mean, maybe he's out playing Quidditch."

"Why would he take the cloak and map if he was just playing Quidditch?"

"I don't know…he could get in trouble for being out of the castle so late at night," she answered.

"He's been gone since dinner, at the very latest, dinner time. Anyone can be outside until nine, no questions asked," Sirius remarked.

"I'm just trying to look on the bright side of things," Lily snapped.

"Okay, we'll look around the castle for him. I'll check the kitchens; you check the Head's meeting room. I can't really think of anywhere else he'd be though."

"Yeah…I'll check the Head's and Prefects bathrooms too, just in case. And you should check the Great Hall too," she replied. "And soon as you're done, meet me back here."

"Okay."

With that said, they both went on their separate journeys through the castle in search for James Potter.

As Lily made her way down a flight of stairs, she couldn't help but wonder what inspired James to disappear without anyone knowing his whereabouts. She thought that everything with Rander was settled in his mind; after all, he told her that he was over the ordeal. It was highly possible that he still was upset by the incident though, and needed to be alone and think it over. But Lily had a gut instinct that James's flight wasn't about Rander. James already grieved over the act; he'd already locked himself away from the world in the solitude of his bedroom for a few days.

She tried to think of the events in the past few days, something that would trigger this sort of response from James. The only major incident that she came up with though, she highly doubted was what made him leave. She could feel her cheeks redden as she thought about it, what they had experienced together. She thought it was magical, an act passed between two people who were so in love, that it was the only way to show it. She and James had made love; something that she felt brought their relationship up to another level. It signified that they could share anything with each other, showed that they loved each other.

No, that couldn't have been what made him leave. It couldn't be. She was certain that James's attitude toward what they did was the same as hers. She was positive that he viewed it as a passionate way of showing how much he cared for her. Yes, she was certain.

Or was she? Could James have viewed it differently? After all, it wasn't his first time. He had sex with Marissa before, on some drunken night. But this was different, wasn't it? Maybe he thought it was too much of a commitment, maybe it scared him. She didn't know, and could only hope it wasn't true. She could only pray that her mind was playing tricks on her, forcing her to think of awful situations.

She shook her head, trying to destroy the images she built in her mind, the images of James leaving her.

"Miss Evans." As soon as Lily heard her name, she stopped dead in her tracks, all images of James leaving her mind.

"Yes Professor," she said as Slughorn approached her.

"What are you doing, I thought you left a while ago," he commented.

"Oh I did," she answered, "I was just on my way to the Head's meeting room."

"Of course," he said, a smile on his face. "I was so thrilled to hear that you earned the title of Head Girl, although it really wasn't much of a competition, was it?"

"Oh, well, thank you," she said, unsure how to respond.

"It still is curious though, how Potter became Head Boy," he commented.

"Sometimes I think it still shocks him," she answered, a smile playing at her lips as she recalled when she found out he was Head Boy.

"It's a shame that Shaun was named Head Boy, the two of you would have made a great team," he informed her.

"But he's not," Lily brightly said.

"No, but I did see you two together, after the dinner in my office. You looked happy together," he said, and then added, "Now, I hope you don't think this is too bold on my part, but you and Shaun, well, that'd make a pretty nice couple."

"Sir, with all due respect, I'm already involved with someone else," she answered, staring him in the eye as she spoke.

"I see," he answered. "Who, if you don't mind me asking?"

"James Potter," she answered.

"Oh, I see," Slughorn said, looking embarrassed as he learned about Lily's love interest.

"If you'll excuse me, Professor," Lily said, saving them both from the awkwardness that was sure to come about if she stayed much longer.

"Yes, of course. See you tomorrow, Miss Evans," he replied.

"Bye, Professor."

With the obstacle of talking with her potions teacher out of the way, Lily resumed her search for James. Yet, as she walked down the empty corridors, she couldn't shake the words of Slughorn. Why did he think that she and Shaun would make such a good couple? Especially on the same night that Shaun had asked her to leave James for him.

Why was this all happening at once? Why did James have to disappear? Why did she have to be put through constant opinions about herself and Shaun? She wasn't sure she could deal with it all at once.

Soon enough, she reached her destination, muttered the password, and entered the Head's meeting room. To her displeasure, as she looked around the room, she saw nothing out of the ordinary. There was no sign that anyone had entered the room at all. Still, she wondered into it.

"James," she called out, only to be greeted by silence. "James, please, if you're in here, come out." Still nothing.

She left the room after peeping around for a couple more minutes, deciding that he was definitely not in there. She then went into both the Head's bathroom and the Prefect's bathroom. Still, she didn't see anything. There was no sign of James Potter anywhere.

Sinking her head down, she solemnly walked back to Gryffindor common room, hoping that Sirius had some luck. But as she walked, she knew he didn't. James wouldn't bring his broom with him if he was going to the kitchens or Great Hall.

Still, she went into the common room, hoping that he would be there, standing there with his smiling face and messy black hair. To her dismay, only Sirius stood there, looking just as upset as she was.

"No luck?" he asked.

"No, you?"

"Nope."

"What do we do now?" she questioned.

"Tell Dumbledore," Sirius answered.

"Okay, let's go."

The two made their way to the Headmaster's office, both walking fast. Neither of them wanted to tell Dumbledore that James Potter was missing, but they also knew that they faster they informed him, the faster James would be back.

Unfortunately, when the two seventh years students got to their Headmaster's office, they forgot one important factor. Neither of them knew the password that would grant them permission to enter the room.

"Fuck," Sirius said, hitting the wall with his hand.

"Crap, what would it be?" Lily asked.

"I don't think of candy, it's always candy."

"Gumdrops."

"Lemon drops."

"Chocolate frogs."

"Jellybeans."

Sirius and Lily tried every candy they could think of, but nothing worked. Nothing budged the rock doors. They were stuck outside, both getting very frustrated and angry. Sirius even went as far as kicking the door, only to seriously injure his toe.

"Open up, damn it!" Lily shouted.

"Miss Evans, watch your language," Professor McGonagall said, sneaking up on two of her students.

"Professor!" both Lily and Sirius exclaimed as they saw her.

"We need to see Dumbledore, now!" Sirius said, almost shouting to show his urgency.

"Black, quiet down," she snapped. "Why do you need to see the Headmaster?"

"It's urgent," Lily said.

"I'm sure I can help you both," McGonagall told them.

"James is gone," Lily informed her.

"What do you mean gone?"

"She means he's gone, as in not in the castle anymore, no where to be found," Sirius said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh no," McGonagall said. She then said the password to Dumbledore's office and rushed the two students inside.

Lily and Sirius followed McGonagall up the spiral staircase, not bothering to wait for it to finish bringing them up; they all ran up the stairs, McGonagall included.

"Albus, we have an emergency," she frantically told the Headmaster.

"What is it Minerva?" he asked, a twinkle in his eyes. "Good evening Miss Evans, Mister Black."

"Potter is gone," she shrieked.

The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes vanished as he heard the news. "I was afraid that this would happen," he commented.

"Professor, neither of us have seen him since you called him out of Potions to talk to him," Sirius informed the Headmaster. "What happened?"

"He didn't tell you," Dumbledore said, it wasn't a question, it was statement.

"Professor, please, what happened?" Lily asked, her green eyes shining.

"Sit down, both of you," he instructed. The two students sat in chairs facing his desk. He then informed the two students the news he had told James earlier that morning. "Late last night, there was a death eater attack. Unfortunately, James's parents were both murdered. The house was destroyed, no one made it out alive, not even the house elf…The ministry sent officers down to the house, and they're looking for any evidence that may lead to who did and how they did it. As of now, we only know that the dark mark was above the house, and both of the Potter's are dead."

"Oh my God," Lily said, her hand flying to her lips. She couldn't believe her ears. James's parent, dead? How could that be? True, Lily only met them that one time when she stayed with James over Christmas break, but she still felt a connection with them. They were nothing short of nice to her, making her feel as if she were part of the family. She couldn't think of two people less deserving of death than them.

She glanced over at Sirius, who she could see was trying to cover his face. He was crying, which made Lily feel very uncomfortable. In the seven years that she knew Sirius Black, she had never seen him shed a tear, not even when he fell three stories high off his broom in their first year. Now though, he looked vulnerable, like a lost puppy trying to make it home.

"Why them?" Sirius asked, wiping a strand of tears from his cheek.

"No one knows for certain," Dumbledore answered. "They were two of the finest wizards and witches I've ever had the pleasure of knowing."

"It's not fair," Sirius remarked, wiping away another thread of tears.

"I know, Sirius, I know," Dumbledore said, reaching across the table and placing a supportive hand on Sirius's shoulder.

With one last wipe of tears, Sirius took a deep breath and pushed his feelings aside, focusing on why he came to the office in the first place. "Professor, what about James?"

"Can either of you think of where he might be?" Dumbledore asked.

"His house… maybe in the backyard, where he plays Quidditch. Maybe Hogsmeade… I can't really think of where he'd be," Sirius answered.

"I, I don't know," Lily quietly said.

"Minerva, will you please inform the Ministry of this, and have them look around the house and Hogsmeade for him," Dumbledore asked, focusing his attention on the Transfiguration teacher.

"Yes, Albus," she said before walking out of the office to report the emergency.

"Now, very important, I need you two to tell me; did he take the invisibility cloak with him?" Dumbledore asked, never looking so serious in his entire life.

"How'd you know?' Sirius asked.

"That cloak has been in the Potter family for three hundred years," Dumbledore answered. "Now tell me, does he have it with him?"

"Yes," Sirius said, and then added, "He took his broom too."

"Okay then, this won't be easy, but we'll find him," Dumbledore said. "Now, thank you both for telling me this. There's not much else for either of you to do, so I want you both to go back to your rooms and try to get some sleep. But if you think of any other place he might be, owl me immediately. And if I hear of any sign of him, I'll alert you both."

"What? That's it? I want to help," Lily shouted.

"Miss Evans, I know you do, but right now, there's nothing you can do," he informed her.

"Professor, please," she pleaded.

"Miss Evans, it's late and he could be anywhere, I don't think it would be wise for you to go out as well. I don't want to have two lost students."

"Please," she begged.

"Miss Evans, I'll make a deal with you. If you promise you won't leave the castle tonight, I'll allow you, Mister Black, and Lupin and Pettigrew to all help in the morning," he informed her.

"Alright," she said, praying that James would be found soon.

"In the mean time, Ministry workers, most of the faculty, and I will be searching for him," Dumbledore assured her.

"Thank you," she said.

"Now, both of you, get to sleep. And remember, tell me if you hear and sign of him."

Just as they promised, Lily and Sirius both made their way back to Gryffindor. Once there, neither of them went to their dorm rooms to sleep. Instead, Sirius went upstairs to inform Remus and Peter of the night's events, which led the three boys all coming back to the common room to join Lily.

"I know he's upset, but I don't understand why he would leave Hogwarts," Remus announced. He said what everyone was thinking, but too afraid to break the silence of the common room.

"I know, usually, when bad stuff happens to him, he locks himself in his room," Sirius commented.

"But look at this, it's probably the worst thing that's ever happened to him," Peter said.

"I know, but still, it just doesn't seem like him…Besides, what's he going to do, wherever he is, that he couldn't do here?" Remus asked.

"He probably just wants to be alone, get away from everyone, including us," Sirius told his friends.

"What do you think, Lily?" Remus asked, watching her stare off into space.

"Hmm?" she asked.

"Never mind," he replied, but then asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm just worried about him," she answered. "It's dangerous out there, away from the castle…and what if, what if something happens to him?"

"Don't worry, he'll be okay," Sirius told her, getting up from his spot in a warm, comfortable chair to sit by her side on one of the red plush couches.

"But, what if, what if the death eaters go after him?" she asked, looking up at Sirius with watery eyes.

"He's got his wand, his broom, and the cloak…he'll be okay," Sirius promised, giving her a friendly hug.

"I hope so," she said before allowing her tears to emerge, soaking into Sirius's shoulder.

The four friends stayed in the common room all night long, not wanting to be apart from each other, just in case any news came. It wasn't until nearly four in the morning did any of them start to drift off to sleep. They all wanted James safe return to the castle, but were disappointed in the morning when they woke to find that he was still not back.

"That's it, it's seven thirty, and there's no word, I'm going to see Dumbledore," Lily announced. She woke up an hour ago when a sixth year came down to do some homework, waking up the four sleeping friends. Since then, Lily and the three boys had all showered, changed their cloths, and were ready for the day.

Lily couldn't stand not knowing about James though, and was watching the clock tick before it was a reasonable hour to see the headmaster.

"I'm going with you," Sirius said, and his response was quickly followed by Peter and Remus wanting to go as well.

With that said, the four friends marched down to Dumbledore's office, said the password and entered the room.

"Professor," Lily called as she climbed the stairs.

"Miss Evans, I was expecting you," he said once he saw the four students standing in front of him.

"Any word?" Remus asked.

"No, I'm afraid not... We've been searching all night, Hogsmeade and around the Potter house, but couldn't find anything," Dumbledore answered.

"Let us help you look for him, please, you promised," Lily said.

"I know I said that, and as I am a man of my word, I'll allow the four of you to help look for him, if you wish, but you must stick together, in pairs. And no one, I repeat, no one is allowed to go into Forbidden Forest as part of the search. Hagrid is in there as we speak, looking for James," Dumbledore said.

"Wait, you mean we can't leave Hogwarts grounds?" Lily asked.

"I'd prefer it if you stayed here, and around Hogsmeade," Dumbledore answered.

"But you said people already checked Hogsmeade," Lily protested.

"Parts of Hogsmeade, the major stores and places that he could have been hiding in overnight," Dumbledore replied. "Now, I would like it if perhaps two of you stayed on Hogwarts grounds, checking the Quidditch fields, down by the lake, even mysterious corners of the castle, anywhere he might be. The other two, I'd like to check in Hogsmeade, placing the young people like to be, but don't leave the town…I'm going to contact all of James's surviving relatives, make sure he isn't with any of them."

"I'll check Hogsmeade," Lily volunteered.

"I'll go with you," Sirius said, leaving Remus and Peter no choice but to stay within the castle grounds to search for James.

"Alright then, and if you find James, remember, owl me immediately," Dumbledore told his students. "And Miss Evans, Mister Black, if you are not able to find him, Mr. Filch will meet you at the usual entrance at six o'clock tonight. If you do find him, I will collect you as soon as I receive an owl."

By eight o'clock, the four students set out in search of James. Remus and Peter searched the castle grounds, hoping that James might be somewhere close by. They were given the passwords to the Head's and Prefect's rooms, just in case.

Meanwhile, Lily and Sirius went to Hogsmeade. It was a sunny April day, so it wasn't too cold, which meant that James was just as likely to be outside as he was inside. So everywhere in Hogsmeade was fair game as to where he might be, whether in a store or outside sitting on a rock.

"So, what do you think the likelihood of him being here is?" Lily asked.

"I honestly don't know, but I really hope he is here," Sirius responded.

"I know, I never realized just how much I miss him, and he's only been gone a day," she said, it was more to herself that to Sirius.

"So, where shall we check first?" Sirius asked, ignoring Lily's last comment.

"I don't, a Quidditch shop maybe," she suggested.

They went to the Quidditch shop, but he wasn't there, nor had the owner seen him recently. Then they went to the sweetshop, the joke shop, and the Three Broomsticks. He wasn't in any of them though.

"Maybe we should check that bar down on the other end of the town," Sirius suggested.

"A bar? Really?" Lily asked, looking slightly disgusted.

"What? Do you have a problem with going into a bar?" he questioned.

"No," she snapped, and then added, "But do you really think James will be in bar?"

Sirius gave her a doubtful look before sarcastically saying, "Do bears shit in the woods?"

She jokingly glared at him before seriously saying, "But he doesn't drink."

"Very often," Sirius added. "But certainly not never."

"Well, I know not never, but he told me the last time he drank, Marissa happened, and that he wouldn't do that anymore. He said too many stupid things come out of it," Lily informed him.

"Did he really say that?" he asked, looking very amused.

"Yes," she replied.

"Well, maybe he meant he wouldn't get smashed again, because he certainly has had a drink since then."

"When?" Lily asked.

"I don't know, over Christmas break sometime."

"But I was with him for most of that."

"Before he went o see you, him, me, Remus, and Peter were bored," Sirius said. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Well, no," she replied, but was slightly aggravated that James lied to her. She let it slide though, due to the current situation.

"But knowing James, he's probably had a few drinks in him after he heard the news," Sirius informed her.

"What makes you think that?"

"Please tell me you're kidding," he said.

"No, I'm dead serious, what makes you think that?" she asked.

"I don't know, maybe because he's normal," Sirius suggested. "He's going to be a bloody mess, and not know what to do. And honestly, when you're in a situation like that, all you want to do is escape it, and alcohol is certainly a good escape."

"Great, just great. My boyfriend is not only missing, but he's probably a drunk, missing person. This is just great," Lily grumbled.

"Lily."

"No, I'm not trying to be funny, or cause a scene or anything," she protested. "It's just, I mean, something could happen to him. He's out here somewhere, and I don't know where. And if he's drunk, well, anything could happen to him." With that said, she knew she couldn't fight back her tears any longer. Her hands flew to her face, wiping away her watery eyes.

"Lily, he'll be okay," Sirius promised, devouring his petite friend in a hug. They stood there for a moment, Lily crying into Sirius's shoulder.

After a few minutes, Lily backed away from Sirius, wiped her eyes and said, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, you're just worried," he responded.

They walked along the dirt road, toward the bar in silence before Lily said, "Thank you, for right there. And thank you for last night too."

"Don't mention it," he casually said.

"I mean it, Sirius, thank you…I don't know what I'd do right now, if you weren't here with me," she told him.

"At the risk of sounding cheesy, what are friends for," he said, giving her a large grin.

She smiled, not only because of his antics, but also because of the friend part of it. She always considered Sirius a friend, but more of a friend through James, a guy that she would never actually spend time with without James being there too. Now though, she was glad to hear that Sirius considered her a friend. It was what she needed right then, someone that she could talk to, a friend.

"Here we are," Lily said as the two teenagers stood in front of the large wooden door. She opened it up to find a large room, one that looked much bigger on the inside than on the outside. There were about fifteen stools at the counter, but this early in the morning, no one occupied them. In fact, there weren't any customers in the entire place. Only the bar tender stood there, a girl who looked to be about thirty.

As Lily observed the place, she was surprised to see that it was actually very clean inside. She didn't think that too many people came here, but at second thought, knew that it must be crowded late at night. She could hear music coming from the jukebox, but didn't recognize the artist.

"Can I help you two?" the woman at the bar asked after looking up from her magazine.

"Yes, actually, we're looking for our friend, James Potter," Sirius replied. "He's about six feet tall, he's got really messy black hair, and he's our age."

"Then he's probably too young to be here," she said. Neither Lily nor Sirius liked her tone, it was as if she was trying to be witty.

"We are well aware that we aren't allowed to purchase alcohol from this, place," she let place roll of her tongue in a bitter tone. "But, he may have been able to persuade someone he was old enough."

"Okay, if I see him, I'll let him know you two are looking for him," she said, her eyes back down on her newspaper.

"Wait, I've got a picture," Lily said, walking closer to the bar. She took out the picture, one of her and James while she was at his house during Christmas break. It was one of Lily's favorite pictures. It showed the two of them at a small, deserted playground about a mile away from James's house. It was the type of place that you couldn't find unless you were truly looking for it. The picture showed James sitting on a swing, which he was much too large for, while the snow gracefully fell around him. Every once in a while, he would look up with an enormous smile on his face, as if he heard a humorous joke.

"You know, now that I see him, he does look familiar," she slowly said, studying the photograph.

"Was he here?" Sirius questioned, alert shown in his eyes.

"Hold on a second," she said before turning away from them and going into the backroom of the bar. She came out a minute later, bringing a man with her. He was a younger than she was, probably only twenty-five at the oldest. He was carrying a towel in his hands, and Lily guessed that he was in charge of cleaning all of glasses.

The bar tender showed the younger boy the picture of James and he looked at it for a moment before saying, "yeah, he was in here last night."

Lily felt her heart leap at that news. As of last night, James was still alive and still doing all right. Also, she hoped that perhaps the people in front of her could lead them to James's next location, or at least see if he would come back that night.

"Did he say where he was going?" Sirius asked.

"No, he left in a hurry," the boy recalled. "About eleven thirty last night, two agents from the Ministry came in, said they were looking for some kid that escaped from Hogwarts. We told them there weren't any kids from Hogwarts here, we weren't serving any kids alcohol, but they looked around a bit anyway. But right after they came in, I saw this guy your after leave. He put some money on the counter, gathered his stuff, and darted out the door."

"Okay, well, thank you, thank you so much," Lily told them both.

"It's no problem," the boy answered, "just hope you find him…If I see him, I'll tell him he's got a couple of nice people looking for him."

"Thank you," Lily said again.

"Yeah, thanks," Sirius repeated.

After learning the new information, Lily and Sirius left the bar and went straight for the post office. This was important news; news that Dumbledore needed to hear about. Once inside the post office, Lily scribbled a note and watched as the owl flew off.

"What now?" Lily asked as she and Sirius walked out of the building and were back on the streets. It was becoming a rather crowded day, due to the beautiful weather. Most the shoppers were adults, some mothers with their small children.

"Well, we checked all the shops that James would ever set foot in, so I think we should stick to looking outside," he told her.

"Okay, I agree," she answered and they made their way down the street, going towards a wooden area that lots of students went to when they had nothing better to do.

They walked in silence for most of their journey, both keeping their eyes peeled for James. It wasn't very likely that he would be among the crowds of shoppers, but neither of them were willing to take the risk of not looking. Once they started drifting away from the prime shops, however, the crowds of people died down.

"Shaun Dunstan kissed me last night," Lily said, surprising both Sirius and herself.

"What?" he asked.

"He kissed me, and told me to consider breaking up with James to be with him," she honestly told him. It felt like a burden was released from her chest when she finally told someone the news.

"What made him think you would break up with James?"

"I don't know…we were having dinner with Professor Slughorn, you know, his usual little group…And after that, he asked if he could walk me back up to Gryffindor, and being an idiot, I said yes. On the way, he started blabbering about what it was like when he and I dated, and then it happened," she confessed.

"Okay, as your friend, not as James's friend, but as your friend, what did you going to do?" Sirius asked.

"I told him I loved James, and that kiss meant nothing to me," she said.

"Good," was all he had to say.

"I still feel guilty though," she confided in him.

"Did you kiss him?"

"Well, no, he kind of pinned me against the wall," she answered.

"Then don't feel guilty," Sirius replied. "And, unless you want Shaun to get hexed until we graduate, I wouldn't mention this to James either."

"I figured that, which is why I told you."

"Listen, Lily, as James's best friend, I want you to know something. When he comes back up to the dorm after spending time with you, he's got the same look on his face as he does after winning a Quidditch match. No, actually, that's not true; it's a much happier look. You mean the world to him, and I couldn't picture someone better for him," Sirius informed her.

She smiled up at him, glad that he was James's best friend.

"Okay, now none of this sentimental crap anymore," he said with a large grin on his face to show he was kidding.

"Shut up, Black," she said with a laugh.

"Okay, now here's what I'm thinking," his tone was serious again. "I'm going to transform into Padfoot, that way, if he's under the cloak, I can still smell him."

"Good thinking," she replied.

After making sure that no one was around, Sirius transformed into the large, shaggy, black dog. He wandered around the wooded area, jumping up on large rocks, his snout almost glued to the floor though. Lily, on the other hand, went about the situation by calling out James's name, hoping he'd hear her and come out from his hiding spot.

After an hour of calling his name and sniffing around the place, neither Lily nor Sirius had any luck at all. James wasn't here. Sirius transformed back into his human self, and had a look on his face, a look of disappointment.

"I don't think there's anywhere else to look," Lily miserably stated as the two teens made their way back into town.

"Where the fuck could he be?" Sirius complained loudly.

Lily plopped down on a bench on the side of the road. She hated to admit it, but she was tired and hungry, and needed a break. Sirius sat down next to her, sighing. A minute later, as if he read her mind, Sirius pulled out two sandwiches from a bag he was carrying.

"Food," Lily said, her eyes lighting up.

Sirius laughed at her as he gave her one of them, surprised at how Sirius-like her reaction was. "Snagged them from the kitchens before we left."

"Good thinking," she replied before stuffing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in her mouth.

"Did James ever tell you how we discovered the kitchens?" he asked, a grin on his face.

"No, tell me," she answered.

"Well, we were in second year, running away from Filch. I think we might have just set off some kind of explosion outside his room. So we were all running, me, James, Remus, and Peter, but we didn't have the cloak with us, we were so naive then, not thinking we'd need the cloak. We could tell he was catching up with us, and couldn't afford to get another week's worth of detention. But then James remembered some advise that his father gave me and him right before we went back to school," Sirius said with a smirk.

"What'd he say?" Lily asked.

"He looked us straight in the eye and said, 'Boys, I know you've gotten into a lot of trouble last year, which can't keep up. But I also know that boys will be boys, so if you find yourself in trouble remember two very important things. One, portraits are always hiding things. Two, these words are very important: oddsbodikins, dilligrout, and baubles. And three, sometimes a little tickle will do.'" Sirius smiled as he recalled Mr. Potter's words, words that were like wisdom to the boys.

"What?" Lily asked, looking confused.

"Yeah, we were pretty confused at the time too, we thought he was of his rocker," he admitted, laughing a little.

"Okay, so back to being chased by Filch," Lily reminded him.

"Right, so we were being chased when James remembered his dad's words. So he began going up to random portraits and saying those three words, and tickling them. We all stared at him like he was crazy, but then he reminded me of the story, and informed Remus and Peter about it. Pretty soon, we were all saying those weird words and tickling the pictures. It must have looked like quite the sight actually," he said.

"But it worked," Lily added, finishing his thoughts.

"It sure did. Soon enough, James was at the portrait of the fruit bowl and he must have been lucky, because he tickled the green pear and it opened up into the door. We were all mesmerized at first, but once we heard Filch yelling for us to come back, we jumped inside the door. And then we saw it, the mountains of food. We knew we'd never go hungry again," Sirius said with a chuckle.

"Wow," was all she had to say. "Sounds like fun."

"It was," he replied. "Ever since then, we've been sneaking down, but with the cloak, just in case."

The two friends remained talking for a while, sitting on the bench and eating their sandwiches. Sirius would tell Lily about other adventures he and the Marauders encountered, most of them taking place at Hogwarts, but some at James's house too. In return, Lily tried to explain some muggle things to Sirius, but it was hard for him to grasp the concept of a record player, so they didn't get very far.

"You know, we should probably go wait for Filch at the entrance," Lily said, getting up from her spot on the bench.

"Yeah, you're probably right," he agreed.

As they walked and talked some more though, Sirius stopped dead in his tracks, his words slowing down to a stop as well.

"What is it?" Lily asked.

"The Shrieking Shack, we never checked it," he said.

"Oh my god, you're a bloody genius," she exclaimed, running over to the nearly abandoned shack. Sirius followed her, kicking the door open.

"James," Lily called, but there wasn't a response.

"I'm going to be Padfoot again, just in case he's under the cloak," Sirius informed her. He transformed again, into the big, shaggy, black dog. It was odd watching him. His skin and clothes seemed to melt into his body, forming fur instead. His nose became elongated, stretching into a dog's snout. Finally, the process was completed and Sirius wondered around the small room and tunnel, sniffing the ground.

Lily, on the mean time, looked around the shack. She had never been in there before, but had heard plenty of stories about it. She could tell why James wanted to keep Remus company during his transformations; it looked like such a lonely palace. It was dark and musty, and she could see cobwebs on the ceiling. "James," she called again.

"Hey, Lily, come here," Sirius said, emerging from the tunnel in his human form.

She walked over to him and saw what he was pointing at; it was an empty beer can. "Do you think it's his?"

"Yeah."

"So he must be here," she said, her eyes lighting up the room.

"Or was here," Sirius said. "I don't think he's here anymore though."

"Why not?"

"I couldn't smell him here, and if he was coming back, the scent would be fresher… I don't know what it is, probably the dog instinct, but I feel like he left last night, late last night," he said.

"Where is he then?" she asked, hope deflating from her voice. They'd looked everywhere in Hogsmeade, and only came across clues. But James Potter was no where to be seen.

"I don't know, but we've got to tell Dumbledore about this," Sirius said. Once again, the two teens went to the post office and wrote a message to Dumbledore. Then, they went to meet Filch, heading back to the castle, only praying that someone had luck in finding James.

They soon discovered that their prayers were not answered. No one had luck finding James. Lily and Sirius had the most luck of all, at least they were given clues. Dumbledore assured them that ministry agents would be at the Shack and bar all night long, looking out for James, but as morning came, he reported that no one had seen him.

Once again, the four teens found themselves in Dumbledore's office. All five of them were getting restless in their search. It was coming on the third day of James's absence, and they were all losing hope.

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**Author's Note 2:** Hey guys, see, I promised it would be a quick update! Yay! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter; it's one of the longest I've ever written! Please remember to review and thanks for reading! Also, my guess is, that my next chapter will set the story over 100,000 words! Yay!


	47. Midnight Magic

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to snazzysnez, alli88, riduculouslyriddikulus, WhiteCamellia, Trocle, laurahonest, zuska1985, Miss Myrtle360, Untamed Loner, Bubblegrl4ever, siriusforeva, Bogloshi, Willimillia, serindraxx, Jutey, shreya, MissMrprk, Katie Pie, and TheCritic18 for reviewing! You're all great!

* * *

It was two o'clock in the morning and Lily found herself seated in one of the large windows that overlooked the Quidditch Pitch. She tried going to bed three times that night, each time having no success. Lily was too worried about James to sleep. Every time her head hit the pillow and her eyes started to shut, she imagined him outside, all alone. She pictured him miserably trying to gather his cloak around his freezing body, his hands trembling against the cold night sky.

To escape the picture in her mind, Lily stared out the window. She noticed that the moon was shining brightly, looking like a radiant half-circle. The stars were twinkling as well, and she felt as if each one was mocking her. Each twinkle was saying that the stars knew where he was, but refused to tell her of the location. She hated them. She hated the usually romantic figures, the ones that she and James had admired together so many times.

Her heart sank, knowing that her beloved boyfriend could be anywhere. It scared her to think that he had the invisibility cloak with him; it scared her to think that she and Sirius may have overlooked an invisible James in Hogsmeade. Then again, he had his broom, which led her to believe he traveled far away from the school.

She let out a large groan. James had been gone for two days already, two long and stressful days. All she wanted to do was hold him tightly in her arms, let him know that everything was going to be all right. She wanted him to confide in her, things he wouldn't say to anyone else. She wanted to run her fingers through his messy hair, entangling her hands within it. She wanted his sweet, hazel eyes to stare down at her. She just wanted to know that he was okay.

Lily tried to imagine what it must be like to lose a parent, let alone both parents. Would she have done the same if she were in his shoes? Would she have locked herself away from everyone, not wanting any human contact whatsoever?

No, she concluded. But that was because she wasn't like James in that aspect. When she was upset, Lily needed to be around someone. She needed the moral support of her friends, or James, of anyone who cared. If others weren't around to hear her cries and experience her pain with her, she would confide in something else. Often, during hard times in her life, Lily would write in a dairy or talk to her pet owl, anything to ease the pain. She was the type of person that needed to let out her emotions; she couldn't keep them bottled up inside her.

Yet, James was different, and she knew that. He hated confiding his true feelings about grave situations. He was the type of person who didn't want anyone to see or hear him express his feelings. He was the type of person that was embarrassed to cry by himself, let alone other people. And on the rare occasion that someone did see him cry, it was never mentioned again, ever.

Lily silently wished that he wouldn't run away from his feelings. She wished he would just open up to her; allow her to help him through the difficult time.

She leaned her head against the window frame, sighing as she took out her picture of James. It was crinkled at the edges, a sign that showed Lily's constant need to grab at it. For some reason, it was as if by seeing him in the photograph, she knew he was still alive.

He looked so happy in the picture. She watched as he lifted one hand up to the sky, catching snowflakes. He was still seated on the swing though, and every once in a while would look her way and smile.

Lily sighed, wishing that every day was like the day they shared in the picture. Things were so simple then. She loved him, and he loved her. Nothing bad had occurred yet; Rander was still alive, James's parents were still alive, and James was safe with her.

She allowed herself to smile as she recalled the day. It was very early one morning; the sun was still bright and new to the day. He came into her room, a large grin on his face. He told her to get up and get dressed because he had a magical place to show her. She protested a bit, complaining that it was too early in the morning. He argued though, insisting that it would be worth it.

When Lily and James arrived at the abandoned playground, she knew he wasn't lying. There was nothing physically special about the playground; in fact, it was rather small and old. It offered seclusion though, and a place for Lily and James to openly talk with each other. They could say anything and do anything without anyone noticing. It was perfect.

She let out a small sigh again, dreaming about that winter morning. She felt her eyes becoming heavy and knew that her body was telling her it was time to sleep. She shut her eyes for a moment, just to make sure the images of a cold and hungry James were no longer there.

She could feel her body and mind shutting down, ready to drift away into dreamland when she bolted upright.

How could she have been so stupid? Her eyes were wide again and her entire body was functioning, ignoring the natural urge to sleep.

Lily quickly grabbed her cloak and ran down the girl's dormitory. She glanced around the common room, hoping that Sirius was there. Unfortunately, he wasn't, so she ran up the boy's staircase, two steps at a time.

Once she reached the seventh year boy's dormitory, she opened the door and crept inside. She peered into the darkness, trying to make out Sirius's sleeping form. She tiptoed to one of the beds, and with the small light from the moon; she could tell it was Sirius.

"Wake up," she hissed, shaking him as she spoke.

"Go away," he muttered.

"Sirius, its Lily, wake up," she whispered, trying not to wake the other boys.

"Go away," he mumbled again.

She was getting angry now. She took out her wand and whispered a spell, one that shot a dash of caffeine into one's blood system. It was always a sure way of waking someone up, and certainly a useful little spell.

In an instant, Sirius's eyes opened and he shot upward. "Lily, what're you doing here?"

"I need you to get me out of the castle," she informed him.

"What?" he hissed.

"Sirius, I know where James is," she stated.

"What? Did you hear from him? Is he okay? Where is he?" he asked, firing questions at her.

"Slow down," she replied. "I've just got a hunch."

"A hunch?"

"Yes, a hunch, but I know he's there…I can feel it," she honestly said.

"Where?"

"The old playground by his house," she answered.

He sighed, rubbing his temples with his hands. "Okay, listen, meet me down in the common room in a couple minutes."

"What?" she snapped.

"Well, quite frankly, I don't want to wake up Remus and Peter. Plus, I need to put some clothes on, unless you'd really love to see my boxers," he stated.

Lily slightly blushed before responding, "Okay, fine, but make it fast."

Running down the stairs, Lily made it to the common room very quickly. She took a seat in one of the plush chair by the fireplace, watching as the flames barely lit the room. She took her wand out of her pocket and aimed it at the dying fire. An instant later, it burst into high red spikes of flames, brightening the entire room.

Just as promised, Sirius came down the boy's staircase, dressed and ready to talk to her. He sat across from her, in the empty couch. "Okay, explain to me why you think James is there."

"Isn't it obvious?" she asked. "It's the one place he goes when he needs to get away from the world. And it's very secretive; James once told me that it was the type of place that no one who didn't already know it existed could find it… You said it yourself; he wants to get away from everyone. It's the perfect spot for that."

He bit his lower lip as he studied her face. She looked sincere; as if she was certain James would be there. Her emerald eyes were staring at him with hope, revealing all of her deepest emotions.

"Let's go tell Dumbledore," he softly replied.

"What?"

"I said let's go tell Dumbledore," he repeated. "He'll want to know."

"No, he won't be able to find it. I need to go there, and I'm not wasting my time telling Dumbledore so that he can tell me not to go," she snapped.

"Lily, there's nothing else we can do," he fiercely responded.

"What kind of Marauder are you?" she asked, her worried eyes turning stiff and cold.

"What?"

"You heard me," Lily sternly answered. "How can you call yourself a bloody Marauder and not even help me sneak out of the castle? I thought you stood for the epitome of danger and rule-breaking…I guess I was wrong."

"I do stand for that," he yelled, standing up as he spoke.

"No you don't, you just think you do. You know, Sirius, you think you're so cool with your rebel-like attitude, but we all know the truth. You're nothing but a normal average wizard."

"Cut that shit out, you know it's not true," he exclaimed.

"Prove it."

"By sneaking you out of the castle?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Lily, if I get caught one more time, I could get expelled," he said, turning away from her peering eyes as he spoke.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Sirius, that doesn't make any sense. I know for a fact that you and James snuck out of the dorm last weekend to go down to the kitchens," she replied.

"We had the bloody cloak though," he snapped. "But now, there's no cloak. Filch could catch us, and then I'd be out of here. I'm not you Lily; I don't have a clean slate."

"So you're just going to let your best friend starve out there?" she asked, looking up at him with somber eyes.

Sirius ran his hand through his long, black hair; a motion that reminded Lily of James. "Bloody hell…no I'm not."

Lily smiled before saying, "Sirius, it'll be okay, I promise."

"Just tell me this, how're you planning we get to the playground once we're out of the castle?" he questioned.

"My God, and you call yourself a wizard," she sarcastically said. "Apparate."

"You can't apparate on Hogwarts grounds, and you call yourself Head Girl," he replied, just as witty as her.

"No, you moron. We're going to Hogsmeade to apparate."

"What? Hogsmeade?"

"Yes, and I know you can get me there," she answered.

"Okay, fine. We're going, but if we get caught…"

"We won't get caught," she said, cutting him off before he could finish the sentence.

With that said, the two teens made their way out of the common room and down several flights of stairs. The halls were dark and deserted, the only light coming from Lily's wand. It was actually rather spooky, especially due to the fact that neither of them knew if Filch or Mrs. Norris were lurking around any corners.

Suddenly, Lily felt Sirius grab her arm and pull her into a nook in the hallway. He grabbed her wand out of her hand, muttering the spell to extinguish the bright light. Lily could feel her heart beating fast; she could hear every beat it made. "What is it?" she whispered, her voice quieter than her beating heart.

"Filch," he whispered, gripping her arm tighter and tighter as each second passed.

Lily tried her best to listen, yet couldn't hear a thing. She wondered if Sirius was just paranoid about being caught, but her thoughts were disproved when she saw Filch slowly walking towards them. She knew she had to do something; it was only fair to Sirius. She promised him he wouldn't get in any trouble, and was willing to do anything to keep her promise.

She raked her brain, trying to think of any spell that might work. She needed to distract Filch, she needed to draw his attention from the fifth floor corridor. All of a sudden, she knew the answer. Focusing all of her thoughts and energy, she imagined Filch looking around, very confused. She imagined him asking aloud what on earth was he doing in the fifth floor when he was needed on the eighth floor. She imagined him angrily leaving their line of sight. Concentrating, she mentally repeated the words "confundo."

After a few seconds, she smiled as she saw him looking around like a lost child at the zoo. The caretaker turned around and drifted off towards a set of stairs, the ones that she and Sirius had just previously climbed down.

"He's gone," Sirius whispered, shocked.

"I know," she answered, a smile still present on her face as she took her wand back and mentally turned the light back on.

"Did you do that?"

"Yes."

"You used magic, without saying any words, with the Confundo Spell," he stated.

"What, like's it hard?" she asked, a witty tone at her lips.

"I'm impressed," he told her. "My mother can't even do that."

Knowing how much Sirius despised his mother, Lily quickly changed the subject by asking, "Where exactly are we going?"

"Third floor corridor," he answered. "Come on."

She followed him, nearly having to run to keep up with his long strides. That was the one thing she hated about spending time with any of the Marauders; they were all so tall it was hard for her to keep up with them.

Still, Lily followed Sirius as he expertly rounded a corner and made his way down another flight of stairs. He continued walking, every now and then, a portrait would make some comment about what a hurry the two teens were in, but other than that, the halls were deadly silent. They continued the long journey throughout the castle, coming to another set of stairs. They ran down them, two at a time, just in case the trick staircase decided it wanted to move, which, according to Sirius, happened a lot more than one would think.

Finally, he came to an abrupt stop in front of a statue of a humpbacked, one-eyed witch. "We're here."

"Here?" she asked, disbelief in her voice.

"Yup," he answered, taking his own wand out of his robes and tapping the hump of the witch as he said, "Dissendium."

Instantly, a passage was revealed and Sirius hopped inside, urging Lily to follow him. She looked around once more before following him. Once inside, she heard the passage shut up, trapping them inside.

"This is how you all get in and out of Hogsmeade when there aren't trips?" she asked. It was a small tunnel, one that she could barely stand up straight in. Ahead of her, Sirius was hunched over, occasionally banging his head one the roof.

"Sometimes," he answered.

"There are more ways?"

"There are seven different secret passages," he replied.

"Seven?" she asked, shocked at the number.

"Filch only knows about two, maybe three of them," Sirius said. "Only two of them lead to Hogsmeade, the others just lead to different parts of the castle, and outside."

"What's the other one?"

"The Whomping Willow."

"Are you serious?"

"It leads to the Shrieking Shack," he answered.

"That's how Remus and you all get there during his transformations? I always thought it was somewhere in the Forbidden Forrest," she commented.

Sirius didn't say anything, but continued the walk through the grungy passageway. "I've got to warn you, you're not going to like where we end up."

"Why?" she asked, sounding very alarmed.

"You know Honeydukes?" he asked.

"Yes."

"It's in the basement."

"Sirius, do you mean to tell me that we are breaking into that store?" she hissed.

"Well, technically, we're breaking out of it," he teased.

"Oh my God, I'm committing a crime," she stated, more to herself that to Sirius.

"In case you didn't notice, but you've already broken like a million rules tonight anyways, it's not going to make that much of a difference," he informed her.

"I haven't broken that many…"

"Yes you have," he said, allowing himself to laugh. "You went into the boy's dormitory, you snuck out of Gryffindor and roamed the halls, you used magic on the caretaker, and you left school grounds."

"Well, I'm sure you have done much worse," she said, trying to defend herself.

"Of course I have, but I'm not Head Girl, now am I?"

"Shut up and keep walking," she snapped.

Soon enough, they reached the end of the tunnel. Sirius peeked his head out to make sure that no one was lumbering around the basement of Honeydukes at such a late hour, and to their luck, no one was in sight. It was surprising that no one was in sight; after all, most people were sound asleep in their beds. Still, both Lily and Sirius knew it was better safe than sorry in a situation like this.

Sirius then climbed out of the tunnel, turning around to face Lily once he was done. He grabbed her hand, pulling her up and out of the small opening. It was pitch black with the exception on Sirius's lit wand, which revealed about twenty cardboard boxes full of supplies for the shop.

"What now?" he asked.

"Apparate to James's house," she whispered.

"No, that won't work," he replied.

"Why not?" she asked, horror written across her dimly lit face.

"The Potter house was destroyed in a Death Eater attack, there will be magical charms protecting anyone from apparating directly there," he answered.

"I don't understand."

"The Ministry doesn't want tons of people going to the house, ogling at it and trying to see what happened. Whenever there's an attack, they always put up these spells, making it impossible for an wizard that isn't an auror or the Minister of Magic himself to apparate there," Sirius informed her.

"Why the fuck didn't you say this before?" she sharply questioned.

"I don't know, you didn't ask," he replied. His tone made it seem as if he was fed up with Lily, but the look on his face showed otherwise. His piercing brown eyes were filled with worry, a look that was uncommon for anyone in the Black family. His face was somber, his cheeks long and drawn out.

"Is there anywhere close that we can apparate to?" she asked, knowing he knew the surroundings much better than she did.

"I don't know, the Potter's didn't like living close to anyone, just in case," he whispered. He paused for a moment, looking intently into Lily's emerald eyes, before saying, "Wait a minute. There's this old abandoned barn about half a mile down the road from James's house…that's the closest I can think of."

"Sirius, you're a genius," she said, launching forward and giving him a large embrace. She felt Sirius stiffen in her arms for a brief second before he lightly placed his arms around her waist, hugging her tightly to his chest.

"Come on," he said, "Let's go get James."

Lily smiled as she broke away from him, glad he was there to help her through it all. She loved James, but knew without his best friend, she wouldn't have survived this week. She was glad that Sirius was there to experience what she went through with her; glad he could answer questions, provide emotional support, and hopefully lead her to James.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready," she answered. With a "pop" they were both gone, leaving the basement of Honeydukes and reappearing in the middle of the abandoned barn.

Once Lily arrived, she noticed that Sirius was already standing there, his wand lit. He waved it around in front of him, perhaps to make sure James wasn't lurking around the deserted barn. Lily looked around and felt a slight chill run up her spine. It was an eerie place, one that she didn't feel comfortable staying in. There were stacks of hay piled along the floor, bound together by a thick rope. In the distance, she saw pitchforks and shovels leaning against a wall, looking as if they hadn't been used in twenty years. She glanced up and saw beam of wood traveling above her head, but couldn't see beyond them due to the darkness of the barn.

She felt something brush against her ankle and let out a small scream as she jumped and held her wand in front of her. She looked down at the ground, where Sirius was pointing his wand only to see a rat running by.

Lily sighed deeply, feeling slightly embarrassed by her outbreak.

"You okay?" Sirius asked.

"Fine," she answered, her voice barely audible. "Let's just get out here; this place is giving me the creeps."

Agreeing with her, Sirius pointed his wand in front of him, searching for an exit. He quickly found the door, but a large wooden beam blocked it. He took Lily's wand from her, keeping his own wand lit, and muttered an incantation. Instantly, the wooden beam exploded, sending splints of wood in all directions.

Sirius passed Lily her wand back, motioning for her to follow him out of the isolated barn. Once out of the barn. Lily felt as if a weight was lifted from her shoulders. The constricted and spooky place of there barn no longer filled her mind. Instead, she focused on finding James.

They walked in silence for the most part, both knowing that the other preferred not to speak. Instead, they both concentrated on James, and how badly they wanted to find him.

After ten or so minutes of walking, Sirius came to a halt. He looked off into the distance, his wand pointed at a field.

"What?" she asked.

"This was James's house," he sadly commented, tightly blinking away tears that formed in his eyes.

Lily followed his gaze, her heart melting when she saw the abandoned location. It was hard to believe that a large estate once stood there. Now, all that was left was rubble. She felt her heart constrict, thinking that just four months earlier, she sat in luxurious sofas, dined at hardwood tables, and slept in guest beds, which were all debris now.

"Oh my God," she softly whispered, not allowing herself to take her eyes off the sight.

"I know," he whispered. He shut his eyes once more before ripping his attention away from the rubble. "Come on; lead the way to the playground."

"Right," she said, refocusing her attention on the purpose for their journey. "It's out this way, maybe a five minute walk."

She led the way, walking directly across from the ruined house, leaving it far behind them. The wind rustled Lily's dark red hair, blowing it behind her shoulders. It made the weather seem even colder, brisk against her face.

Finally, after the long walk, Lily saw a gathering of several tall trees. She felt herself smile, knowing the playground was nearby. "It's in the middle of those trees," she whispered to Sirius.

"You mean that forest looking thing?" he asked, his voice equally quiet as Lily's. Neither of them were quite sure why they felt the need to whisper, but they didn't stop since they left Gryffindor.

"Yes, you have to go in a bit, through a cluster of trees. But once you get to the center of it, there's a playground, and James will be there," she said, her heart speeding up as she spoke.

"In the middle of the trees," he stated, thinking that it was no wonder no one knew to check for James here.

"Yes, now come on," she hissed, carefully stepping into the dark, forest. Once inside, the only light was from her and Sirius's wands, not even the moon and starlight could enter through the blanket of leaves above their heads.

"Are you sure about this?" Sirius whispered, glancing down at the ground, checking for odd creatures that might be roaming around.

"I'm positive," she answered as she stepped on a fallen stick, breaking it in half with a large cracking noise.

"I don't like it in here," he commented.

"What? You're not afraid, are you?" she asked.

"Of course not," he snapped as he anxiously looked around his surroundings. "Are you?"

"No," she quickly replied, her wand out in front of her as if she was to attack someone.

They carried on their journey through the wooded area, both walking slowly, as if they tried not to disturb anything that might be looming in the forest. Finally, Lily excitedly whispered, "Look, up ahead, you can see the moonlight. The playground's right up there."

"Good," he mumbled, not sure if his nerves could handle much more of the dark forest. They both began to pick up speed, their hearts beating fast as they realized that James was only meters away from them now.

Lily reached the opening first, emerging from the trees. She abruptly stopped though, causing Sirius to nearly run right into her. All of the blood in her face dropped, and she felt a pain run threw her heart.

She scanned the swing set first, but there was not a sign of James Potter. She slowly walked closer to the slide, but still, no one. He wasn't there.

Her eyes swelled up as the realization sunk in. She was wrong. James Potter wasn't at the playground. All of her instincts about places that only she would know about were wrong.

Sirius put his hand on her shoulder, trying to provide some comfort to the woman that stood in front of him. He didn't know what to do. Lily was so sure that James would be there, and he wasn't. He wasn't anywhere in sight. He truly was lost.

"Come on, let's just go," she whispered, her voice barely audible. She didn't want to stand there any longer, she didn't want to face the fact that her boyfriend was missing, with no hope of his return.

Sirius, however, ignored her request. He took his hand off her shoulder and walked toward the swings. He looked curiously at them, down at the ground below them and the rusted nails that held them into place.

"Sirius, come on, let's just go," she said, loud enough for him to hear her.

"Shh," he hissed, reaching his hand out in front of him.

"Sirius," she repeated.

Just then, Sirius lunged forward, attacking what appeared to be thin air. Gravity told him that he should land, stomach on the swing, arms and legs draped toward the ground. However, not a single inch of his body felt the seat of the swing. Instead, he was suspended in thin air.

Lily watched in amazement as Sirius flung his arms around until he grasped what he was looking for. In an instant, James Potter stood there; his broom in one hand and a firewhiskey in the other.

"James," Lily exclaimed, running toward the two men. She reached the swing in no time and pushed Sirius out of the way, throwing her arms around James's neck. "Oh my God, I've missed you."

Sirius stood there, panting slightly and holding the invisibility cloak in his hand. "James, what the fuck are you doing?" he asked once Lily released her embrace and stepped back.

"Oh, Sirius, Lily, you're both here," James said, slurring his words. He took another swing of his drink, emptying the rest of its contents into his mouth.

"James, are you drunk?" Lily asked.

"Me, no," he replied, standing up from his seat on the swing.

"James, look at me honey," she said. "Are you okay?"

"Me?" he asked, looking at her with very confused eyes. "Am I okay, I think the question, is, is, is, are you okay?" He then attempted to stand up, hoisting himself off the seat. However, this was not the brightest of ideas because he then came crashing down to the dirt floor.

"James!" Lily exclaimed as both she and Sirius rushed over to his side.

"You okay, mate?" Sirius asked, bending down to look his best friend in the eye.

"Peachy," James answered, although it took him an incredibly long amount of time to say the entire word. "Just, peach-" he began, but was unable to finish his sentence, passing out before them.

"Oh my God," Lily mumbled, frantically looking down at James. "What are we going to do?"

"We need to get him to the Hospital Wing," Sirius answered. "He needs to lie down, and probably get a hangover potion."

"Yeah, good point," she replied. "Just one question: how're we going to get back to Hogwarts?"

"Fuck," Sirius angrily said. There was no way to get to Hogwarts without apparating to Honeydukes and traveling through the secret passage back to the castle. They certainly couldn't apparate with James in his current condition. Nor were either of them trained enough to perform the apparation spell that could transport others at the same time, and neither was willing to risk James showing up without and limbs. Flying was out of the question, knowing that to fly an intoxicated James across miles of land and water was very dangerous. Also, none of them had any money, so the Knight Bus wouldn't come in handy either.

"Hey, whose owl is that?" Lily suddenly asked, pointing to the slide, where a snowy white owl was perched.

"That's the James's parent's owl," he replied.

"We could write to Dumbledore, tell him where we are and that we found James," Lily said. "I've still got the paper and quill from Hogsmeade."

"No way," Sirius answered. "I'm not getting expelled from school."

"Be realistic, you wouldn't get expelled, this is very heroic," she snapped.

"No, it's no good. There's no way in hell are we bringing Dumbledore into this," he stubbornly replied.

"Then what, pray tell, do you suppose we do?" she asked. She still sat next to James, propping his head into her lap.

"We'll stay at the old barn for the night. Then, when James is awake, we can all apparate to Honeydukes and sneak back into the castle. No one will ever know we were gone, and we'll just say that James flew back on his own," he suggested.

"I'm not sure about that," she gravely answered.

"There's nothing else to do," he replied. "We're staying in the barn."

Lily sighed, but agreed to Sirius's plan. Thinking about it, it seemed to be the only logical thing to do. They certainly couldn't stay in the cold playground nor could they get back to the castle that night.

Sirius pointed his wand at James's sleeping form and muttered a spell, making him as light as a feather. Sirius then bent down and picked him up, cradling the sleeping James in his arms. "Lead the way," he said to Lily.

With that said, the three teens made their way out of the forest and onto the road that led to the abandoned barn. Lily looked up and noticed that the Potter's owl was following them, and asked, "Do you think she's going to come with us?"

"I wouldn't doubt it. She's got no where else to be…James is the only Potter left," he sadly answered.

They continued on their journey, Lily now walking side by side with Sirius. She looked down at James often, as if to make sure he was still there. He looked peaceful, and his light breaths reassured Lily that everything was going to be okay.

Finally, they reached the old barn and walked into it. Sirius set James down on the ground, only to be pampered by Lily before his head hit the ground. Still, even with James lying next to her, Lily felt as if something wasn't quite right. There was something about the barn that made her feel queasy.

Sirius then took a seat on the dirt ground, on James's other side. Lily looked at him and asked, "Does this feel weird to you?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, his voice matching hers, at a barely audible tone.

"I don't know, but just not right," she answered. She paused for a moment before asking, "Did you hear that?"

"Relax, it was just the owl, she flew in," he whispered.

Lily took a deep breath, embarrassed that she didn't recognize the sound of wings. She felt stupid; there was nothing to be afraid of. It was an abandoned barn. The only noises she would hear would from small animals, like mice, trying to find shelter. She could certainly handle that.

No she couldn't. The barn was too much for her. She was hearing sounds, sounds that were definitely not made by mice or owls. "Sirius, I don't feel okay. Something's wrong, very wrong."

"Just go to bed, it's just your imagination," he whispered.

"I'd listen to the Mudblood," came a voice from above them. The voice was rough sounding, a man's voice. Neither of them recognized it, but both of their heart's sped up. They heard a large bang, the sound of the barn door slamming shut.

"Who's there?" Sirius asked, jumping to his feet, his wand out in front of him.

"You don't remember me, Sirius?" the voice asked.

"Who's there?" he repeated, standing his ground. Lily, too, stood up. She gripped her wand tightly in her hands, holding it out in front of her. She tried to see through the darkness, not daring to light her wand.

"I'm truly hurt," the voice said again. "And shocked too. When we were kids, we used to play together all the time."

"Who's there," he asserted again.

With a flash of light, the entire barn lit up. Two men wearing black cloaks appeared before them, standing just ten feet from them. Lily didn't recognize either of them, but judging from Sirius's face, he was well acquainted with both young men.

"Avery, Mulciber," he said, not taking his eyes off them.

"Good job," Avery said, a smile at his face.

"Wouldn't your mother just love to see you now, it'd probably kill her to see you protecting a Mudblood and a Potter," Mulciber spat out.

"It's too bad she's not here then," Sirius responded.

"Oh, he's a funny one," Avery sneered.

"What are you doing here?" Sirius firmly asked.

"Oh, you haven't put the connections together?" Avery asked, peering at his former childhood friend.

"You're both Death Eaters, I've guessed that," Sirius replied.

"Might as well tell him, I'd love to see the look on his face," Mulciber snarled.

"We had a mission, not too far from here a few days ago," Avery said, a smile forming on his thin lips.

Sirius and Lily both felt themselves turn white. They were face to face with the murderers of Mr. and Mrs. Potter.

"It's funny, how stupid some people can be, they trust anyone," Mulciber added.

"Don't you dare say that," Sirius snapped.

"Oh but it's so true," Avery said, his smile widening. "They should really learn that in times like these, no one is to be trusted. They should have known that polyjuice potion can hide anyone's appearance…I guess they learned their lesson though."

"What?" Sirius hissed.

"Oh yes. It was so easy too. Linda Potter's oldest friends from Hogwarts made the perfect disguise; she let us into the house, no questions asked. She had no idea that Zachary Gibbons was in the hospital or that his wife, Susan visited him every day. She had no idea that it was so easy for our inside man to snatch a few hairs from his patient and his patient's visitor. Linda Potter had no idea that she was really letting us into her house…at least not until it was too late," Avery sneered.

"Shut up," Sirius finally bellowed, not being able to handle learning any more about the deaths of his two closest adults.

"Oh, how sweet, Sirius Black has a soft side for the Potter's," Avery teased.

"You won't get away with it, either of you," Sirius snarled.

"We won't?" Mulciber asked, focusing his attention on Sirius.

"No."

"I think we already have," Mulciber said. "And there won't be anyone here to blab about it."

Lily bit her lip, knowing that the two Death Eaters intended to kill them both. She had to think fast. Her hand went to her cloak

In a flash, she heard Sirius and Avery both yelling curses. They both went flying backward, Sirius knocking into a haystack, and Avery falling hard on the dirt ground. She searched her brain, trying to think of something. She felt something at her feet and carefully looked down to see the owl nipping at her shoes.

"And now for the Mudblood," Mulciber sneered. "Expelliarmus!"

Lily felt her wand fly out of her hand and she went falling to her feet. Thinking fast, she knew it was the perfect time for her plan. She took out the quill and paper, scribbling a fast note.

Mulciber and Avery then started walking toward Sirius, believing that without a wand, Lily would be helpless. She watched as the two Death Eaters sent curses flying at Sirius. Luckily, he was fast and easily dodged most of them. A few times he was hit, but the curses only knocked him off his feet.

Lily bit her lower lip and looked around the barn, hoping for some inspiration. Her eyes widen as she saw the shovel leaning against a nearby wall. She quickly and quietly darted for it, grasping it tightly in her hands. She then launched towards Avery. She held the shovel high above her hands before crashing down on top of the man. He instantly fell to ground, screaming in pain.

Lily was about to do the same to Mulciber, but he took his attention off Sirius and onto her. "Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, pointing his wand in the air. Unfortunately for Lily, she was still attached the shovel and was sent twenty feet in the air along with the object. She felt herself wander over toward a beam and looked up to see the shovel balancing on the supports.

Her heart was racing as she looked down. She saw Mulciber advance towards Sirius, firing hexes at him. Sirius didn't back down though, confidently dodging curses and firing them back at Mulciber.

After several darts, Mulciber finally sent a curse to Sirius. He went flying backward, hitting the barn wall behind him. Lily gasped as she saw him sink down to the ground, praying that he would be okay. She desperately wanted to run over to him, wipe the blood from his forehead. She couldn't though, knowing that if she loosened her grip, she would fall twenty feet down toward the ground.

Mulciber walked over to Avery and pointed his wand at the unconscious man. Lily assumed it was a reviving spell because a second later, Avery was back on his feet again, rubbing his hand over the back of his head.

Lily saw a flash of black on the ground and saw that Sirius leapt to his feet and was hexing Mulciber. Mulciber went flying backwards this time, crashing into a large pile of hay. He got up at once though, wand pointed at Sirius.

Lily felt her hands begin to slide, becoming sweaty. Her heart was beating fast as she tried to keep a hold of the shovel's handle. Her weight was too much for her though and she could feel her fingers slowly peeling away from the wooden handle.

"Sirius," she yelled as she began to fall. She wasn't sure exactly what happened next but she didn't hit the ground with a smack. Instead, she gracefully landed on her feet. She looked up and saw Sirius's wand pointed at Avery now, not on her.

She wondered if he already enchanted her not to land harshly on the ground, but from the look on his face, she knew he was having difficulty dodging Avery and Mulciber's curses.

"Lily," she heard from a very familiar voice. She looked over towards James and saw his wand pointing at her. She smiled as she ran toward him, hugging him tightly to her chest. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she answered, "but Sirius."

"I know," James said. It was as if he had never gotten drunk at all, he was suddenly strong and powerful again. He aimed his wand at Avery and muttered a hex, throwing the wizard off balance and crashing down to the ground.

He got back up at once and turned to face Lily and James. His wand pointed at James he yelled, "Incarcerate!" Still tipsy from the alcohol, James wasn't able to dodge the curse. His arms and legs were immediately bound to his sides.

"James," Lily said at once, her hands immediately going toward the ropes. She tried to undo the powerful knots, but wasn't having any luck.

"Know what would be fun?" Avery asked.

"What's that?" Mulciber questioned.

"Seeing Black perform some magic that would make his mother proud of him," Avery answered.

Mulciber grinned, knowing exactly what his partner in crime meant. He was advancing on Sirius, wand in position to fight. Sirius, regaining control of the situation sent curses flying at Mulciber, who dodged them quickly.

Lily, on the other hand, gave up on untying James and was having her own battle against Avery. He would advance on her, knowing that she was wandless. He sent hexes her way, playing tricks with her mind. He didn't do anything too serious, knowing that he would have his laughs as soon as Mulciber succeeded in their plan.

"Imperio!"

Both Lily and Avery froze at the sound of the Unforgivable Curse, eager to see who cast the spell. It didn't take them long to guess, however, as they saw Mulciber grinning like a maniac.

Sirius got off the ground and started walking toward Lily, a forced smile on his face. She felt her heart speed up. She knew that he would never intentionally hurt her, but under the Imperius curse, he had no control. Mulciber was in control of Sirius's every move now.

"Sirius, please," Lily begged. "Fight it."

She was breathing deeply, not taking her eyes off the wizard in front of her. She wasn't sure what to do. She had no wand. How was she supposed to defend herself without a wand?

"Sirius," James yelled. "Don't do it, fight it."

She blinked for just a moment before concentrating once again on different spells that she could mentally perform. She pictured fire in her mind, Mulciber's robes being on fire. She heard a scream and knew that it worked, but unfortunately, it did not break the spell that the Death Eater held over Sirius.

"Incarcerate!" Sirius yelled, pointing his wand directly at Lily. Instantly, she felt ropes tighten around her body, clamping her arms and legs close to her sides.

"Sirius, please," she yelled, praying that he would be able to undo the curse.

"Just make him say it for crying out loud," Avery said, slightly annoyed that he couldn't see Lily Evans in severe pain.

"I'm trying, but he's fighting back," Mulciber snarled.

"Fine, I'll do it my bloody self," Avery snapped before pointing his wand at Lily and saying, "Crucio!"

Lily immediately felt as if her body was shattering into small parts. The pain was unbelievable. It felt as if tons of sharp needles were attacking her from all sides, wanting nothing more than to kill her.

The pain then eased up, but she still felt as if she wouldn't be able to move for weeks. She heard Avery yell the curse again, but didn't feel any pain this time. She glanced over at James and saw him wriggling around on the floor, a terrified look upon his face.

Lily focused all of her remaining energy of obtaining her wand, but the pain she was still feeling was too strong. She couldn't concentrate on mental magic at that moment, as much she wanted to, she couldn't.

She heard Avery yell "Crucio" once more. It hit her again, this time stronger than before. She could hear a cackle coming from Mulciber, but couldn't do anything about it. She let out a scream, not being able to bear the pain any longer.

"Stop!" she heard Sirius yell. He launched at Avery, breaking his connection with Lily. Immediately, Lily felt the pain ease up. She opened her eyes and saw Sirius punch Avery, not dealing with wands anymore. Mulciber went to Avery's side though, hexing Sirius again, forcing him to fly and hit the wall again. She heard a loud bang, and knew Sirius hit it with enough force to crack a rib.

All of a sudden, she saw a burst of fresh, new light emerge into the air before everything went dark.

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**Author's Note 2: **Hey all! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, it's over 100,000 words now! Yay! Sorry I kind of left you at a cliffy, but I hope you forgive me! Also, in case you didn't notice, this chapter has set the official record for the longest chapter I have ever written! Please review, it makes the writing come ten times faster!


	48. In His Heart

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to MissMrprk, Trocle, serindraxx, Bogloshi, JPx3LE, Heather gernenz, Miss Myrtle360, snazzysnez, Whitelight72, Casey Commings, zuska1985, siriusforeva, Willimillia, Jutey, x nimz x, Untamed Loner, sugur-huny-bun, NikkyB, and RubyBinds for reviewing! You are all incredible!

* * *

Lily gently rubbed her eyes and slowly opened them, being blinded by the bright light. Her hand immediately went to her head; she couldn't believe how much pain she was in. Ever her worst migraine didn't compare to this. In fact, her entire body ached, as if she had been run over by a car.

Groaning slightly, her eyes finally came into focus. She looked around for a moment before seeing that she was inside the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts. The sun was shining in brightly from the large windows that overlooked the castle grounds.

Across from Lily, she saw a human form shift from inside the white linen bed covers. She squinted her eyes and tried to make out who it was. She noticed black hair, but it wasn't messy like James's was. Instantly, she knew who occupied the bed. It was none other than Sirius Black. She felt relieved when she saw his chest heave up and down at a steady breathing pace; he was okay. His battle against Avery was okay in the end.

Lily groaned as she recalled the previous night's events. Until this moment, she hadn't thought about it at all. She remembered hearing two of the Unforgivable Curses coming from Avery and Mulciber's lips. One of them was shot at her, which accounted for her tremendous soreness.

She tightly blinked her eyes, wanting nothing more than to forget what occurred last night. She couldn't remember anything after the bright light that lit up the barn. Lily had no clue how she wound up in the Hospital Wing.

Suddenly, she felt someone touch her arm and her heart sped up. She slowly opened her eyes and turned to her right. She smiled once she saw who it was. "James," she whispered.

"How're you feeling?" he asked, grabbing her hand and softly rubbing it.

"I'm okay," she replied. "And you?"

"I've been better," he answered. "I'm just glad that you're okay."

She smiled up at him and shifted over in the bed so that he could sit next to her. Tears soon found their way into her eyes and she trembled as James took her into his arms and held her tightly to his chest. She hated herself for crying, especially since she knew how much he had gone through. He lost his parents, was involved in a Death Eater attack, and now had to deal with her crying. It shouldn't be her tears falling, it should be his. She should be consoling him, not the other way around. Yet, that wasn't how it was. James had his arms around her sobbing body and was gently rocking her in his arms.

Finally, Lily regained herself and brushed away her remaining tears. "I was so scared," she admitted.

"I know, so was I," he told her in a very somber voice.

"James, when you ran away, I felt my entire world stop. I've never been so scared in my entire life," she confided. "And then when we couldn't find you at first, I was miserable."

"Don't worry, Lils, I'm here now," James replied.

"And look at me now," she sobbed. "I'm a bloody mess and crying about every little thing…. It's not right. You should be the one upset and I should be trying to help you."

He smiled at her as he said, "Do you want me to cry? I will if you really want me to."

She laughed, grateful for his sense of humor. However, her laughter stopped quickly and she seriously asked, "Why'd you do it?"

James sighed and ran his hand through his messy hair. He dropped his head back and didn't answer for a moment. Finally, while looking away from Lily, he answered, "I needed to be alone… I obviously wasn't thinking very clearly, but I just knew I had to get out of here. I didn't want anyone looking at me again, pointing and saying 'oh look, it's James Potter, everyone pity him.' I just can't stand that." He paused for a moment and still looking away from her, he tightly blinked his eyes to wipe away his watery eyes. "I can't believe they're gone… I don't have anyone anymore."

Lily reached out and grasped his chin, forcing him to look at her. Even once his face was glancing at her, she kept a firm grasp on his chin, knowing that he would whip his head around the second she let go. "Look at me," she ordered, which he hesitantly did. "You are never going to be alone in this world and you do have someone, you'll always have someone."

James didn't say anything, but wrapped his arms around Lily once again and hugged her tightly to his chest. He let one single teardrop from his eye before taking a deep breath.

"James, I love you," Lily said. "And don't you ever forget that."

"I love you too," he murmured, before laying a kiss on the top of her head.

A moment passed between the young couple. They sat there in silence, engulfing the feeling of just being together. Lily rested her sore head against his chest and felt the gentle motion of every breath took. After the past few day's dangerous excitement, this was exactly what both she and James needed. Just to sit there with the one person that they loved amounted to a more relaxing time than either had experienced.

Finally, James broke the silence by saying, "Lils, I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she instantly replied.

"I am though, for last night… If I hadn't been so stupid with all the drinking, we all could have apparated into Hogsmeade instead of staying in that old barn. And if we weren't in the barn, you and Sirius would have never gotten hurt at all," he somberly stated.

"James, it's not your fault."

"Or I could have at least helped you guys out," he whispered.

"But you did," she softly said. "You saved me when I fell."

"I don't remember that," he replied.

"I'm surprised you remember anything at all," Lily told him.

"Honestly? I talked to Sirius early this morning," he confessed. "He told me everything."

"Is he going to be okay?" Lily questioned.

"Yeah, he had a cracked rib and a broken arm, but Madame Lingwood gave him some potion, so he'll be okay," James answered. He hesitated for a moment, and wondered whether or not he should say what was on his mind. In the end, he slowly stated, "I know you don't want me thinking this, but I still feel awful about what happened."

"James," she whispered.

"No, I do," he firmly said. "I know that it was my stupid idea to leave the castle and not tell anyone where I was, which led to all of this."

"James, we all understand," she softly replied.

"Why does this stuff always happen?" he asked.

"I don't know," she answered.

"Why me? Why did it have to be me that discovered Rander's secret? Why did it have to be my parents? Why did it have to be my fault that you and Sirius could have died?" he exclaimed in a very quiet voice. Once again, James ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "Why me?"

Lily leaned her head against James's chest and sighed. "I don't know why it has to be you, but believe me; I wish I could do something about it."

"Thanks," he whispered as he kissed the top of her head.

However, their moment was interrupted by Sirius stretching his arms above his head and sitting up. "Morning," he yawned.

"How're you feeling?" Lily asked.

"I'm a little sore, but all my bones are working again," he answered with a grin; he was always trying to make any situation better.

"And yourself?" he asked. "I see you've got a James attached to you."

"Very funny," James said as he stood and went to his own bed. He knew Sirius didn't really care if he and Lily were sitting together, but felt like he should move anyways. Besides, Madam Lingwood was bound to barge into the room soon anyways.

"I feel much better," Lily informed him, ignoring James's comment. It was true to, even from the time she woke up, she could feel her strength coming back to her. Additionally, her body didn't ache as much either.

Their conversation was cut short, however, as the double doors that led into the Hospital Wing were opened. Although, the person opening the doors wasn't who the three seventh years expected it to be. They expected Madam Lingwood to come in and tell them to shut up and go back to bed, which were her usual orders whenever she heard anyone talking in the sleeping area.

Instead, Professor Dumbledore appeared. His silver hair cascaded down to his waist and his moon-shaped spectacles glimmer from the sunlight. He had a faint smile on his face, the one he always seemed to wear whenever visiting his favorite students.

"I'm glad to see that all three of you are awake," he told them.

"Hello, Professor," Lily politely said, which was followed by two murmurs from the boys as well.

"Madame Lingwood has given me permission to visit with you three for a short period of time, and that was only after a severe persuasion on my part," Dumbledore informed his students. "I see that you three are all doing much better than the last I saw you, which means that we need to get down to business."

"Are we in trouble?" Lily blurted out, panic written across her face.

Dumbledore chuckled for a moment before answering, "No, Miss Evans, not at all. I'm just glad that you are all safe… I want to discuss what happened last night, down at that old barn."

"It was Avery and Mulciber," Sirius automatically said.

"As in Gregory Avery and Damon Mulciber?" Dumbledore questioned.

"Yes," Sirius answered. "They were both there; they're Death Eaters."

"I was afraid of that," Dumbledore solemnly said. "Now, please, I'd like a detailed account of what occurred."

As promised, Lily and Sirius both informed Dumbledore of exactly what happened. They told him that they snuck out of the castle, although they didn't mention how, and then went on their journey to find James. Lily went into detail about how they found James, but knew it wouldn't be safe to apparate back into Hogsmeade. From there, Sirius told of how he suggested staying in the old barn, despite the fact that Lily didn't have a good feeling about it. Sirius then told of how Mulciber and Avery jumped out at them and attacked, although not before informing them of the murder of the Potter's.

At the mention of his parents, James perked up and listened. His heart sank about ten notches and his blood began to boil. Avery and Mulciber killed his parents. They were responsible for their death. They were the reason that James was now considered an orphan.

"They used a polyjuice potion to pretend to be friends of Mrs. Potter's, and then once inside they used the killing curse to commit the crime," Sirius recalled. "And, well, sir, they said that they received the hairs to make the potion from an inside man at St. Mungo's."

"Lord Voldermort has an inside man there?" Dumbledore questioned.

"That's what Avery said," Sirius replied.

"Thank you, I'll alert the Ministry as soon as we're finished with this," the Headmaster said. "Now, please, continue on with your story."

"Sirius and Avery began yelling curses at each other, and they put up a pretty good fight," Lily recalled. "Then Mulciber came toward me and he used the disarming spell to take my wand away… And I didn't know what to do, but I felt inside my cloak and there was the parchment and quill you gave us the other day. James's owl was lingering nearby too, so I wrote you a letter, telling you where we were and that we needed help."

"Yes, Miss Evans, very smart thinking on your part," Dumbledore praised her. "That owl must be a very fast flyer, for I thought I may have been too late."

"Then it was you," Lily stated, her eyes brightening as she spoke. "That flash of light, that was you."

"Yes, Miss Evans," Dumbledore replied.

She smiled at him before continuing on with the story. Ashamed, Lily looked down at the ground while she retold the next part. Her cheeks were burning as she told of how she picked up the heavy shovel and knocked Avery to the ground before he could do any more damage to Sirius. Then she told of how Mulciber countered that attack by flying her high above the ground, only to have James save her from a dreadful fall.

Sirius then recounted how Avery was revived and the two dark wizards came at him, deciding it would be "fun" to place the Imperious Curse upon him. He said he tried to fight it, but it proved to be difficult, he couldn't remember anything that occurred while under it.

Lily took over the story telling and informed Dumbledore how under the curse, Sirius came toward her and bounded her with ropes. She recalled Avery and Mulciber arguing before Mulciber stated that Sirius was fighting against the curse. Then she felt a sudden pain as she retold the Cruciatus Curse. She recalled it stopping and then it hitting James before another round of pain came over her body.

"The next thing I knew, I looked out at Sirius and saw him drop his wand and take a swing at Avery, which broke his wand connection with me. I felt the excruciating pain die down a bit and tried to do some sort of magic, but I couldn't do anything… Avery hit Sirius with another curse, and the next thing I saw was him being thrown across the room," Lily said, blinking her eyes tightly as she spoke.

"And then a bright light came," Sirius added, "Which I presume was you."

"Yes, it was," Dumbledore responded, sighing before he spoke. "Although, by the time I noticed the three of you, Avery and Mulciber must have gotten away."

"What's going to happen now?" Sirius asked.

"Well, I believe you three should all get some rest," Dumbledore replied. "I will inform the Ministry of last night's events and a search warrant for Avery and Mulciber will be issued."

"You don't think that You-Know-Who will come after us, do you?" Lily carefully asked.

"No, Miss Evans, I don't believe he will," the Headmaster answered. "At least not while under my protection."

"Sir," Sirius began.

"Yes, Mister Black?"

"Do you remember what Professor McGonagall said to me the last time I was caught out of bed late at night?" Sirius asked.

"Yes, I do recall the conversation that you're speaking of."

"Am I?"

"No, Mister Black, not at all," Dumbledore replied, a smile forming beneath his half-moon glasses. "I would never dream of a Hogwarts without you here."

"Thank you, sir," Sirius said, grinning as well.

"Now, please get some rest," Dumbledore insisted. "Or else Madam Lingwood will never let me disturb another student again."

James felt a pang in his stomach as he watched Dumbledore walk away. Deciding to act on his urge, he leapt out of bed and followed the Headmaster. "Professor, wait. Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Dumbledore turned around and led James to a quiet area of the Hospital Wing, "Of course you may… I was actually expecting you to want to talk with me."

"I'm sorry," James said.

"Mister Potter, don't be," Dumbledore replied. "It's my fault for bringing such a harsh reality upon you so quickly. I shouldn't have allowed you to leave my office without the supervision of one of your peers. I should have known better, after all, you are a Potter."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I taught your father Transfiguration before I was Headmaster, and let me tell you, he was exactly like you in that sense. He would have done the same as you did," Dumbledore answered.

"Still, I'm sorry for putting everyone through all this worrying."

"Don't ever feel that way, it was my mistake," the Headmaster honestly said. "Now, if there's not anything else, I need to inform the Ministry of the two latest Death Eaters."

"Well, sir, there is one more thing," James hesitantly said. "Do you think what happened between Rander and I was directly related to my parent's murder?"

Dumbledore sighed and replied, "I was hoping you wouldn't ask that question."

"So you think it was."

"I don't know if it was or not, nobody but Voldermort knows for sure," Dumbledore answered. "However, I feel you are grown enough to know my honest opinion… I do believe that it was related, Voldermort works in awful ways. Even as a student here, he always believed and adored revenge."

James looked down at his hands, feeling guiltier than ever before.

"James," Dumbledore began. "I don't want you to think this was your fault though, you mustn't blame yourself. Your parents were very powerful wizards who denied his request to join him multiple times. If I know anything about Voldermort, which I believe I do, it's that he views anyone who is powerful as a threat to himself. He has seen your parents as a threat for many years."

"It's not fair."

"I know it's not fair," Dumbledore replied. "Your parents were good, respectable wizards. They didn't deserve this, but I know that if they were alive today, seeing you like this would break their hearts. They loved you very much, James, and don't ever forget that."

"I know."

"It's a strange and dangerous world beyond the castle walls; one that you'll be entering in two months time," Dumbledore seriously told him. "Be careful, James… Remember what I said too, he views those with power as a threat to him… Be careful and be very aware."

"Thank you, sir," James said, although he was very confused by the Headmaster's words. Did Dumbledore know something that James didn't? Was he predicting that one day James would be powerful enough to be a threat to Lord Voldermort?

He felt his heart leap. He wasn't sure whether or not he approved of this thought. Sure, being a powerful wizard sounded great, and of course, James loved the glory of being thought that way. But still, he wasn't ready to face any more Death Eaters, let alone the most powerful Dark wizard of all time.

"James, you look a little uneasy," Dumbledore commented.

"Professor, with all due respect, why are you telling me this?" James asked, knitting his brow close together as he spoke.

Dumbledore smiled his odd smile again and with twinkling eyes he replied, "I know that a few months ago you heard Professor McGonagall and me speaking."

"You do?" James asked, worry written across his face. How could he know that? James had been so sneaky, and he had even worn the cloak! How could Dumbledore know?

"Yes, you see, if you're going to wear that old cloak of yours, you might want to be a little quieter on your toes," Dumbledore said, and amused look shining in his eyes.

"You know about the cloak?"

"Of course I do," Dumbledore chuckled. "That thing has been in your family for hundreds of years. Even when I was a young boy here, your grandfather, who was a year behind me, had the cloak. I know it gets passed down from generation to generation."

"You've known all these years, and you haven't said anything?" James asked.

"What fun would that be if I told you I knew about it earlier?" Dumbledore countered, his amused look stretching down to his lips.

"I didn't know that," James commented, slightly shaking his head as he spoke.

"However, that it besides the point," the Headmaster stated. "I know you heard about the Order, and I trust you not to let anyone else discover it, besides your best friends, whom I'm sure you've already spoken to."

"I won't say a word."

"The Order of the Phoenix is the official name of the group," Dumbledore began. "Myself, along with many other respectable witches and wizards are the members of the organization. It is our mission to fight back against Lord Voldermort and his followers."

"Were my parents in it?' James suddenly questioned.

"Yes, they were," Dumbledore answered.

James sucked his lower lip over his teeth and softly bit at it. He looked up at the wise professor and said, "I want to be in it."

"I knew you would say that," the Headmaster replied. "That is the main reason I told you about it… You are a very capable young wizard; one of the best students Hogwarts has ever seen."

"Thank you, sir."

"My only condition is that you are not allowed to be in it right away," Dumbledore strictly informed his student. "Wait until the school year finishes and the summer passes, then I will be in contact with you again about it."

"But sir," James protested. "I want to be in it now… I want to do something, anything at all to catch those damned Death Eaters."

"I know you do, but you're not ready yet," Dumbledore replied. "It's a very dangerous job, James. Innocent people are murdered while trying to do their tasks."

"I know."

"Just wait," Dumbledore instructed. "When the time is right, I promise you will be given the chance to fight against the Dark Arts."

"Thank you, Professor," James said.

"Now, James, go get some rest… I need to speak with the Minister of Magic and inform him of the information that Miss Evans and Mister Black supplied me with," Dumbledore said, the twinkling light reappearing in his eyes.

James sighed and slowly walked back to where his friends were laying in their respected beds. Dumbledore had certainly given him a lot to think about. Yet, James knew from the moment he spoke that he wanted to be a member of the Order of the Phoenix. He would be willing to risk his life in order to save others; he would do anything to ensure that another Hogwarts student wouldn't have to go through what he had to.

"You okay?" Lily asked, watching him as he sat down in his bed.

He stared at her for a moment, her emerald eyes piercing into his. She was another reason to join the Order. If anything were to ever happen to her, just because she was muggleborn, James wasn't sure he would ever recover. He loved Lily Evans and was going to do anything he possibly could to ensure her safety.

"James? Are you okay?" Lily repeated, worry written across her gentle face.

He smiled at her and replied, "I will be."

---

Three days later, the Marauders and Lily, along with most of the Hogwarts faculty, all found themselves at Gerald and Linda Potter's funeral. Witches and wizards from all across Britain arrived for the ceremony, which was held at an outdoor function about five miles away from the former Potter mansion. The types of people varied greatly from distant relatives to former Hogwarts friends, and even the Minister of Magic himself.

James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all seated in the front row and could practically see the minister's sweat as he read several different passages to the crowd. Lily looked over at James and saw that he had a blank expression across his face, as if he were trying his hardest to conceal his true feelings. She gently laid her hand across his black trousers and gave his leg a reassuring squeeze, as if to let him know she would always be there for him.

The ceremony carried on peacefully; sobs could be heard from every angle of the seated guests. It was amazing how two people could be so loved to bring forth numerous amounts of people, all gathered to mourn for their beloved friends.

At the end of the funeral, two white doves were released into the sky. They flew high above everyone heads until they disappeared together into the distance, symbolizing the peacefulness and innocence of Gerald and Linda Potter.

When the caskets were magically flown down the aisle, James turned his head away. He couldn't bear to see his parents leave for good, only to be buried beneath the ground. Lily grabbed onto his hand and held it tightly, forcing him to know she wouldn't ever leave his side. He felt a small tear appear in the corner of his eye, which he quickly blinked away.

Once the two mahogany caskets left the sight and were deep beneath the ground, a few select people who were close with the Potters were permitted to visit the burial site. James bit his lip, not sure whether he actually wanted to see it. In the end, he took a deep breath and with his four closest friends, made the journey to the gravesite.

Gerald and Linda Potter were buried next to each other, without any other bodies near them. Two gravestones poked out of the ground, surrounded by a circle of white flowers. It was a peaceful location; one that would ensure the modesty and respect the Potter's had before their deaths.

_Gerald H. Potter _

_Liberty__, Equality, Justice _

_1931 –1976 _

Directly to the right of Gerald Potter's grave stood Linda Potter's, which read-

_Linda A. Potter _

_Loving Mother, Daughter, Wife _

_1932 – 1976 _

As the five friends gathered around the area, James grabbed onto Lily's soft hand. He needed to feel her there with him. He needed to know he wasn't alone in the world, despite the fact that he was staring at his parent's gravestones.

Sirius walked closer to the tombstones and bent down before them, gently stroking his hand across each engraved letter. His other hand went to his eyes, where he wiped away one small tear. Linda and Gerald Potter were more like his family that his birth family. They taught him life lessons, provided him with a home, and cared for him as if he were their own son. Sirius knew that he would never meet two greater parents in his entire life.

Standing up, he sighed and backed away from the graves. He felt his heart sink and silently thanked them for everything they had ever given to him. He shut his eyes for a moment before looking up at the sky, knowing they would always be looking down on the world below. Knowing there was nothing else for him to do, Sirius turned and walked away from the site without muttering a single word.

Peter walked forward next and bowed his head in respect. Linda and Gerald Potter didn't deserve to live such short lives. They were good, honest wizards. Peter couldn't ask to meet a better pair. He recalled visiting the Potter mansion on numerous accounts. His favorite memory consisted of a time when Linda Potter, sensing he was feeling left out from the group, made him a special lunch, one that even James didn't get. It brought a smile to his face, the simple gesture that showed she cared.

He then looked up again at the two stones staring back at him. He backed away from them slowly and followed Sirius's motions of walking away.

Remus was next in line to pay his respect to Gerald and Linda Potter. He stared down at the writing on the gravestones and knew they couldn't be more accurate. Gerald Potter stood for everything his grave said; nothing was more important to him than protecting the liberty, equality, and justice of his family and fellow people, no matter their heritage. Linda Potter was one of the sweetest women he had ever had the pleasure of knowing; she couldn't have been a more loving woman.

Backing away from the graves, Remus turned to face Lily and James. He patted James on the shoulder and said, "They were incredible."

"I know," James whispered before watching Remus disappear out of sight.

He continued to grasp onto Lily's hand, leaving her as a barrier between himself and his parent's graves. He didn't want to face them quite yet. By not seeing them, it was as if they weren't completely dead yet. He could still have hope they would be just around the corner, smiling at him.

"James," Lily softly said.

Hearing his name, James intently stared at her. She released her hand from his grip and hugged him tightly to her chest, nurturing him like a small child. They remained that way for a considerable amount of time, until Lily broke away.

She looked out toward the graves and wiped her eyes, making them red and blotchy. Her black mascara ran slightly, causing her eyes to look darker than they really were. She refocused her attention on James and lovingly ran her hand up and down his arm before walking away from the grave sight, leaving James alone with his parents.

Not knowing what else to do, James shoved his hands deep inside his pockets and focused his attention down on the ground. He stubbed his toe into the grassy surface below him and shrugged his shoulders. He loved his parents, but didn't know what he was supposed to say to them.

Eventually, he slowly walked over to the actually tombstones and sat down before them, crisscrossing his legs and allowing his body to relax. His hands went to the ground and lightly grazed the blades of grass.

"I wish you were here," he slowly said, blinking his eyes as he spoke.

He moved his right hand away from the grass and rested his elbow on his legs, his head resting in his hand. He sighed and asked, "Why did you have to go? Why did you have to leave me alone in the world?"

He felt stupid asking these questions, it wasn't as if his parents could ever respond to him. He sighed again, yet continued talking, "I miss you both so much… I don't know how I'm going to manage without you… I know I have Lily, Sirius, Remus, Peter, but it's not the same as having you around. I love you both so much… I, I need you both. I know I've told you numerous times that I didn't and that I wanted to be treated like and adult, but not now. I want you both here, I need you both here."

As he spoke, he felt tears swelling up inside his eyes. Knowing there was no one there to see him cry, he allowed the tears to run down his cheeks. He sat that, sobbing for nearly an hour. He couldn't control the flood emerging from his eyes; it was an unstoppable force just waiting to come out.

James lied down in front of the graves, still slightly sobbing. He confessed everything to his parents, all the emotions he had ever felt. He told them that he didn't want to be an auror like every other male in the Potter family. He told them how he wanted to marry Lily someday, and he hoped that although they couldn't make it to the wedding in person, that they would still be with him from above. James found himself telling them all about his encounter with Rander, being alone in the park for days at a time, and the events that occurred in the old barn.

He confessed everything to them and knew that they were listening to his every word. Although they weren't with him physically, he could feel their presence. He knew that their souls were with him and always would be. Wherever he went, no matter what he did in life, they would always be with him, in his heart, to guide him through life's mysteries.

* * *

**Author's Note 2:** Hi all! I hope you enjoyed chapter 48! Okay, so first of all, if you really want to recall Dumbledore and McGonagall's conversation, it was back in chapter 30. Secondly, before anyone asks why I even had Peter attend the funeral, remember, he was their friend at the time and not an evil person (yet.) Lastly, please, please, please review! I'm literally begging you to hit the little button and write down any comment you may have. I live on your constructive criticism and praise!


	49. Full Moons

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to MissMrprk, Rylie D, AnIrishLily, Bogloshi, JPx3LE, laurahonest, serindraxx, Rosey, fancythefantasy, Lillith Potter, World Of Broken Dreams, zuska1985, Heather Gernenz, sugur-huny-bun, krazisoapluvnreject, Trocle, Untamed Loner, siriusbrillantbrunette, Katie Pie, Ravenclaw Steph, Annabelle, Miss Myrtle360, siriusbrillantbrunette, Sarah12345, siriusforeva, RubyBinds, sig, Katie, riduculouslyriddikulus, emerald sea, and Red Hair Green Eyes for reviewing! You are seriously the coolest people in the world and I love you all!

_Katie Pie:_ Hi there, thanks so much for reviewing, you've been such a faithful reviewer and I truly appreciate it! As for your questions, James's parents wanted him to be an Auror, but he wasn't quite sure he wanted to be one. For a while, that was his goal, but only because that was his father's goal for him. As for your second question, sadly, the story is coming to an end. I've got a few more events planned, which means a few more chapters, but my guess is that there will be anywhere from 4-10 chapters left, but that's just a guess and subject to change. I want it to end with seventh year, so once they graduate from Hogwarts, Loving You will be finished… sad, I know.

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"How're you holding up?" Peter asked James. The funeral had been a couple of days ago, but James was given the weekend to move at his own pace. Today, however, was his first day of returning to class. Before the funeral, his professors gave him time off, knowing how upset he must be. After the funeral, he had two days to recover over the weekend. But today was Monday morning, and James was required to attend class.

"Okay," he replied, bringing a spoonful of cereal to his mouth.

James, Peter, and Sirius were all seated in the Great Hall, trying to make the best of a Monday morning. It was more difficult that usual, however, due to the fact that Remus couldn't join them for breakfast. It was that time of the month again, werewolf time. The full moon was later on that night, so Remus was forced to spend most of the day in the Hospital Wing getting prepared for his troublesome night.

The bright side of things however, was the fact that the Marauders could have a quality time together that evening. It was always a great joy of theirs to run wild in the night, especially in their animal forms. James was truly looking forward to the midnight adventure. It was the perfect remedy for clearing his mind of the previous week's events. He needed it.

"Thinking about tonight?" Sirius questioned. He had a large grin on his face, the one he always got whenever the Marauders were about to embark into a dangerous adventure.

"You know me so well," James replied.

"And it really couldn't come soon enough," Peter added.

"You're telling me," James commented. "You have no idea how badly I need to get out of the castle."

"Why do you need to get out of the castle?" came a voice from behind James.

James scrunched his nose up toward his eyes and his forehead wrinkled automatically. This morning was not working out too well for him. First, he had to actually go to class. Second, his first class of the morning was with the Slytherins. Third, Lily just caught him talking about escaping from the castle. What made the matters even worse was the fact that she still didn't quite trust him because of his mistake of running away.

"For air," he cautiously replied.

"James Potter, don't you dare lie to me," she said in a stern voice. She took a seat next to her boyfriend and looked up at him with expecting eyes.

"Just to hang out with Moony tonight," he informed her.

Her already narrow eyes crumpled closer together, just barely showing her emerald eyes. She studied him for a bit, as if she were trying to discover if he was being sincere. Once seeing that he was indeed telling the truth, she relaxed her stance a bit. However, she did say, "James, are you really sure you should be doing this?"

"What do you mean?" he defensively asked.

"Well, you've been through a lot this week," she began. "Maybe it's not a good idea for you to wandering around in the Forbidden Forest and Hogsmeade."

"Lils, I've been doing this for two years, I think I can handle it," he stated.

"But James, you've never done it when there were all these emotions bottled up inside you," she replied.

"Emotions? Bottled up inside me? Lily, what do you take me for, some pansy?" he asked, trying his best to sound manly. To be thought of as anything less than strong and manly always made James cringe. True, sometimes it was all an act and he was sensitive, especially around Lily, but he didn't want his friends to see that. It didn't matter that Sirius and peter were two of his closest friends; he didn't want either of them to see a weak side of him.

"James, stop it, you know that's not what I meant," she argued.

"Then what did you mean?"

"Well, James, to be completely honest, you've been through complete Hell these past couple of weeks. Any normal wizard wouldn't want to leave his room, let alone leave the castle to run around and break school rules," she replied.

"Well, Lily, over the seven years that you've known me, when have I ever been your typical wizard?"

"Not even a day," she sighed, knowing she wasn't going to win this battle with him. At times, James could be so stubborn about things.

"Right then," Sirius broke in. "Don't worry, Lily, we'll take good care of him, won't we Peter?"

Peter looked up from his breakfast and answered, "Of course we will. He'll come back without even a scratch."

"Well, he might have a couple scratches," Sirius went on. "The Whomping Willow can be a bit of a bitch at times, and some of those trees in the Forest are kind of prickly. But anyway, we'll take good care of him."

Lily looked across the table at Sirius, then at Peter. There were times when she truly didn't understand men; this was one of those times. Here they were, trying to defend their friend and make Lily feel better, but they only made her believe nothing good could come from their journey under the full moon.

"I'm going to go," Lily said, standing up from her seat and backing away from the three boys. She had a look of confusion written across her face, which was mixed in with some wonderment. She truly didn't understand men sometimes.

Once Lily was gone, Sirius leaned into the table, motioning for his friends to do the same. "Know what would be funny?"

"What?" Peter asked, enthusiasm running through his veins.

"If we started our fun a little bit early tonight," Sirius replied.

"How so?" James questioned, an intrigued look across his face.

"Well, I noticed that Snivellus is sitting all by himself this morning."

"That's nothing new," Peter commented, glancing over at the Slytherin table as he spoke.

"Yeah, but we could go pay him a little visit," Sirius grinned. "You know, just make sure he knows who the boss around Hogwarts is… We haven't had the pleasure of reminding him in quite a while."

"I like the way you think, Padfoot," James said, a devilish smile appearing at his lips.

With that said, the Marauders, minus Remus, all huddled closely together to discuss their breakfast plan. They needed something good, but not vicious enough to land them in detention for the night. They didn't want to have anything that could interfere with their plans with Remus.

Finally, after several minutes of discussion, they came to an equal census about what to do concerning Snape. Slowly, all three boys stood up from the Gryffindor table and wandered over to see their least favorite Slytherin.

As they neared the table, Sirius began to whistle and look up at the ceiling in a relaxing way. He walked at a light stroll, as if he were walking in a park rather than the Great Hall. His two friends were close behind him, both trying their best not to look too suspicious. However, anyone that neared Severus Snape could be considered suspicious considering that Snape didn't have any friends of his own. Even people in his own House didn't like him, called him an oddball and enjoyed watching the Marauders pick on him.

Snape was sitting on the far end of the Slytherin table, closest to the door. Their plan would work out perfectly. No professors would be able to witness their cruelty, and the door was just inches away. For James's relief, it was also in a position where Lily couldn't see his actions. He knew she didn't appreciate his constant teasing of his fellow students, and stopped pranking them for her sake. However, Snape was just so easy to pick on. One more than one occasion, James knew he was just asking for it.

"Hello there, Snivellus," Sirius greeted, sitting down next to the greasy haired Slytherin. Snape was startled to see the three Gryffindor students approach him and he felt his heart begin to race.

"What're you up to, Snivellus?" Peter questioned, trying his best to maintain his excitement.

"How come you're not answering my dear friend's question?" James pressured, draping his arm around Peter's should as he spoke of his 'dear friend.' He peered at Snape from across the table, his eyes revealing his hatred for the Slytherin wizard.

Snape looked at each of the three boys before sneering, "What do you want?"

"Want?" Sirius questioned, showing mock insult. "Why would you assume that we want something from you, Snivellus?"

"Personally, I'm insulted that you don't have more faith in us, Snivellus," James commented.

"As am I," Peter added, playing along with his two best friends.

"Just go away, Pothead," Snape sneered.

"Pothead, why that is certainly original," James replied, his voice conveying a fake cheery tone. "But honesty, Snivellus, I haven't done pot in a very long time. I for one, don't have the resources available on campus, nor do I want to do that in the castle… But then again, I'm not a Slytherin."

"What do you want?" Snape sneered again.

"What? Can't we just stop by and say hello to our dear friend?" Sirius questioned, a devilish smile spread across his face.

"What do you want?" Snape angrily questioned again.

"That tone really doesn't suit you," Peter teased.

"I agree," Sirius added, slapping Snape on his back as he stood up. Of course, little did Snape realize, but Sirius planted a prank right on his school uniform. It was a magical creation, one that the Marauders invented the previous summer. It started as a small, black dot, which can stick to nearly any surface. However, once it does stick to something, it begins to grow. Vines are released from the black dot and they grow at a rapid speed. Within twenty minutes, the vines would take over Snape's entire body, curling their way around his every limb.

Of course, the black dot that grows into a plant was only meant to be a joke. There was nothing harmful about it. It's sole purpose was just to wrap around the person's body, not tightly, but enough so that the wizard wouldn't be able to slip out of the contraption.

James and Peter immediately stood once they saw Sirius give them the sign, indicating that the black dot was in place. Of course, they knew they needed to do something right then and there, otherwise Snape would grow suspicious of them throughout breakfast.

"Oh, and Snivellus, you might want to get another plate of waffles," James advised.

"Why?"

James looked down at Snape's plate of food released a ball of spit, which landed perfectly on the waffles. "That's why," he cheekily answered.

Snape growled under his breath, but didn't say anything. This type of thing wasn't worth getting anyone else involved in the immature act. To be completely honest, Snape was amazed that they didn't try to pull a much larger trick on him. This seemed elementary, the type of prank they pulled on him when they were in first year. Snape let it go though and pushed his plate aside. He grabbed a new one and overloaded it with waffles before taking out his copy of the _Daily Prophet_ and opening it to the first page.

Meanwhile, the Marauders made their way back to the Gryffindor table. They made sure to sit at the very end. They didn't want to miss a minute of Snape's vine experience.

"Well done, boys," Sirius said as he took his seat. "Now all we have to do it watch."

"I hope he doesn't notice it for a while," Peter commented.

"He might, but he won't be able to do anything about it," Sirius sneakily replied.

"Why?" James questioned, a suspicious smile forming at his lips.

Sirius reached into his robe pockets, revealing a wand nearly two inches shorter than the one Sirius usually carried around.

"How'd you get that?" James asked, pleased to see that Sirius was carrying Snape's wand.

"Nicked it," Sirius answered, a large grin appearing on his face.

"That's my boy," James joked.

"Now, all I have to do is hide it somewhere," he replied.

"How about the broom closet?" James suggested.

"Hmm, it could work, but it might be too easy to find."

"Gryffindor?" Peter asked.

"He'll know it was us."

"We throw it in the lake," James offered.

"I like it," Sirius said, smiling as he got up. He walked out the Great Hall and towards the castle doors, opening them up with his wand. Then, with his own wand, he charmed Snape's wand to fly across the acres of land and toward the lake outside, secretly hoping the Giant Squid might eat it.

Moments later, he reappeared and took his seat again. "Done."

"Excellent," James commented. He then looked towards Snape and added, "Any minute now, and we should see some growth."

"And he hasn't realized there's something growing from his back yet?" Sirius asked.

"Nope," Peter answered.

"Are we sure it's working?" Sirius questioned.

"Oh, it's definitely working. We saw a group of sixth year Slytherins walk by him and they all pointed and laughed, but didn't tell him anything about it. He's oblivious to the situation," Peter replied.

Just then, the three boys saw a green vine appear from behind Snape. It took all their might to keep their laughter in, but they managed somehow. What made the situation even more humorous, however, was that Snape was still unaware of the vines. He swatted at his arm a couple times, as if there might have been a bug there, but didn't look up from his newspaper.

Minutes later, they saw Snape's eyes widen; he saw the vines. They were moving over his arms now, making themselves visible to his range of sight. He wore a look of pure panic, but didn't say anything. He reached his hands toward his robe pocket, just barely managing to reach inside. However, he couldn't feel his wand. Shit. His wand wasn't there. His wand was missing when he needed it most.

Snape's eyes darted around the room, wondering if there was anyone around to help him. Then he saw them; Sirius, James, and Peter. They were all innocently looking at him, the slightest smiles on their faces. Once their eyes locked, Snape knew at once that they were responsible for the contraption that kept on growing. His certainly grew when he noticed Sirius wave a slight goodbye at him before the three boys ran from the Great Hall.

Snape was so furious at them, he didn't even realize the vines coming towards his center until he felt one jab at his stomach. He felt his heart begin to race and he started to scream.

---

"I can't believe you three," Lily scolded as she neared James, Sirius, and Peter. The three boys were sitting down in the large, comfortable chairs next to the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room. They all had books spread out in front of them, which was very surprising for the Marauders. Usually, they didn't want their appearance as rebel prankers to be ruined by homework. However, tonight was an exception. They had precisely half an hour before they needed to sneak out of the castle to meet Remus in the Shrieking Shack.

"What?" James asked, looking up innocently at his girlfriend.

"You guys were awful to Snape this morning at breakfast," she informed the group, sliding onto the edge of James's chair. She sat on the chair's arm, place where she often found herself. She didn't feel comfortable sitting on James's lap in front of other people, instead opting for a more ideal location.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sirius sweetly replied.

"Yes you do," she argued. "The three of you used some sort of contraption to make vines grow on the poor kid."

"Really Lily, I don't know what you're talking about," Sirius insisted.

"He was screaming that it was you three," Lily stated, staring down all three boys.

"That dirty little bastard," Peter grumbled.

"But luckily for you, Professor Slughorn looked around the room and didn't see any of you. He insisted that it couldn't be any of you just because he couldn't see you," Lily added. She paused for a moment, and then asked, "So, did you have the cloak or something?"

"Nope, we just ran like hell before he could open his mouth to scream," James answered, a smug look across his face.

Lily rolled her eyes, sighed, and said, "You know, that's not very nice, the way you always pick on him. He hasn't done anything to any of you, but you insist on making his life a living nightmare."

"What do you mean he hasn't done anything to us? He's called you a, well, a nice very nice word at least a hundred times," James replied.

"Not to mention he's up to his eyeballs in the Dark Arts," Sirius added.

"Still, would it kill you guys to give him a break?"

The three Marauders looked at each other before simultaneously answering, "Yes."

Lily rolled her eyes again. She tried so hard at getting the Marauders to act decent toward Severus Snape, but it never seemed to work. True, she was successful at minimizing the pranks, but they would never stop harassing the greasy haired Slytherin.

"So, what are you up to tonight?" James asked Lily, looking up at her while he spoke.

"The usual; homework," she answered. "Exams are a little over a month away and my parents have already sent me letters telling me I should start preparing now."

"Are you kidding?" Sirius asked, laughing as he spoke.

"Dead serious," she replied. "My parents are neurotic about schoolwork sometimes. I mean, I'm studying something they wouldn't understand in a hundred years, and they still insist that I do perfectly on it."

"Well, better you than me," Sirius joked.

"Thanks for your support," Lily teased, jumping to her feet as she spoke. "Well, homework calls."

"Have fun with that," James said, smiling at her as she jokingly narrowed her eyes at him.

Lily then straightened up and in a low voice asked, "Are you still planning on going to see Remus tonight?"

"Yeah."

"Well, be careful," she said, "And don't do anything stupid."

"When have I ever?" he jokingly questioned.

"I'm not kidding, be careful out there," Lily replied. "I don't want to wake up to find you in the Hospital Wing."

"Lils, I've never had to go to the Hospital Wing from one of these adventures, just relax."

"Just be careful, okay?"

"I will," he replied before greeting her tender lips with a light kiss from his own. It was nothing too passionate, just a light, simple kiss. It was his way of telling her he loved her, and hers of telling him she cared for him. Yet, at the same time, neither of them were embarrassed to face his friends afterwards.

Once they broke apart, James watched as Lily disappeared up the stairs toward the Girl's Dormitory. She looked back at him for a quick second and smiled, sending a warm feeling through James's heart.

"Okay, Romeo, let's go," Sirius finally said.

James jumped to his feet and with certainty replied, "Right."

With that said, the three boys went up to their dorm room to drop off their books and gather the invisibility cloak. Not to arise suspicion when it came to the portrait of the Fat Lady, only James hid under the cloak. Sirius and Peter acted as if they were just going out of the common room, perhaps to roam the castle halls. Once successfully out of the Gryffindor common room, the boys slipped into a nearby bathroom. Peter transfigured into his rat form and climbed onto Sirius's shoulder, providing more space for James and Sirius to move beneath the cloak.

Soon enough, they were outside, staring at the Whomping Willow. Peter scurried to the ground, getting away from his two friends as they each transformed into their animal forms. Once in his dog shape, Sirius grabbed the invisibility cloak in his mouth, ready to leave it at the base of the Whomping Willow once Peter activated the knot in the tree, which stopped the dangerous branches from moving for a few seconds.

In a matter of moments, the three boys, in their animal forms were climbing through the tunnels, towards the large room where Remus was waiting for them. They could hear his howls; some from boredom, others from his self-inflicted pain of biting at his arm. Looking at the walls that surrounded them, they could see the scratches and claw marks, damaging the wallpaper.

James hated the fact that his friend was confined to the Shrieking Shack. It was such a dreary place, despite the efforts of the Headmaster to make it enjoyable for Remus. The few pieces of furniture in the several different rooms were all broken; legs missing from tables, stuffing pouring out from couches, bite marks on nearly everything.

The three wizards heard another howling noise, which led them to the proper room that Remus was in. The Shack itself had several different rooms upstairs, each one equally beat up. Usually, they could find Remus in the master bedroom, where he could sit down on the four-poster bed, which was also ruined form bite marks. However, today, the howl was coming from a different room.

As soon as the Marauders entered the room, Remus's howling subsided. Even as a werewolf, James could sense that Remus had a sudden lift in spirit at seeing his friends. This always happened, once he realized his friends were with him. The constant biting died down a bit, only occurring occasionally, and Remus rarely felt the need to bite the furniture.

Soon enough, Moony, Prongs, Padfoot, and Wormtail made their way out of the Shrieking Shack, towards the familiar grounds of Hogsmeade. Just running around in the empty village was enjoyable for the Marauders, especially for Remus. He didn't have to stay cooped up in the Shack, he could roam the village. He could run around as if he didn't have a care in the world.

First to leave the Shrieking Shack was Wormtail, sneaking through a small crack in the floor. He always left the shack first, just to make sure no humans were around. Nothing would ruin the evening more than if they had to control Moony's instinct to kill all people that came within his smelling range.

Luckily, Wormtail didn't sense any human nearby. While outside, he pounded his entire rat body onto the lever that the Marauders constructed on one of their many illegal trips to Hogsmeade. They made a devise that sat in a remote area near the shack, one so small that only Wormtail could reach. It automatically opened the Shrieking Shack door, allowing the three larger animals to escape from the shack.

Once they saw the door slowly creak open, Prongs, Padfoot, and Moony bolted out the door. There was nothing like running free around Hogsmeade. There was nothing to stop them from racing up and down the streets, exploring the different wooded areas nearby. It was an amazing experience.

Prongs trotted over towards Wormtail, who was coming up from the small crack where the lever was. Wormtail skittered up Prongs's long legs, not stopping until he reached his back. This way, Wormtail could still participate in the adventures, despite his small form.

With the full moon shining down on the Marauders, Padfoot began to run. His dog feet pounded onto the dirt road, making a light pounding noise. Moony and Prongs, with Wormtail on his back, soon followed, running beneath the moonlight.

They ran towards a deserted wooded area, one that they hadn't explored since the beginning of sixth year. The trees were thick, the branches rubbing against Prongs's thick stag coat. He didn't mind though, just trooping through the area was an adventure on its own.

He saw Moony run out ahead of them, as if he wanted to play a game of tag. Prongs looked at Padfoot and nodded his head, his antlers clashing into a low branch. Yes, they would join their werewolf friend in the game. The only question, who would be it first?

Prongs eyed Padfoot, and with a quick dash, he ran away. Padfoot was going to be it in their game of tag. He was going to have to track down all of his friends. Of course, the game was a lot more fun in the woods as animals than anywhere else as humans. As animals, they could pick up on a scent trail to find their opponents, which made it easier to chase down. However, they could also run much faster and find several different hiding places in the woods.

Prongs caught sight of Moony, still running in the opposite direction. He let out a low howl for no good reason at all, just to express his werewolf form. Prongs stood still for a moment and looked around, wondering where Padfoot could be. He couldn't hear any footsteps, but that didn't necessarily mean he wasn't close by. Padfoot could be sneaky at times, launching on any unsuspecting stranger.

He started to run again, Wormtail still hanging onto his fur. He ran swiftly past a large oak tree, one that he noticed contained large slash marks on its bark. He knew they must have come from Moony, and they still looked fresh. Moony must be nearby.

As he rounded the corner, around the large oak tree, he came face to face with the large werewolf. Moony let out another howl, but continued running, Prongs at his side. A couple minutes later, Moony seemed to realize that Prongs wasn't trying to tag him; they were on the same team tonight.

A moment later, Moony cocked his head and sniffed the air. A large, shaggy black dog emerged from the shadows and ran right towards Moony. He lightly placed his head against Moony's leg, signifying that Moony was now it.

Moony looked down at the familiar dog, his dear friend Padfoot, and let out another low howl. He knew what had happened, knew that it was his turn to chase down his best friends throughout the forest.

Prongs looked at Padfoot for a moment, their eyes locking at once. They stayed that way for a split second before they both ran for dear life away from their werewolf friend. Prongs let his hooves sink into the dirt terrain, mud sticking to his feet. Padfoot was right next to him, the pitter-patter of his paws touching the ground seemed to echo through the woods.

They didn't stop running until the reached the edge of the forest, where Padfoot came to a halt immediately. Prongs continued on a bit, trying to slow himself down. He then turned around and met his friend back a few meters. He stared down at the large dog, trying to figure out why Padfoot had so urgently stopped.

His eyes gave it away. In place of the usual happy-go-lucky dog eyes that Padfoot usually had, there was pure terror. It could mean only one thing; he smelled people.

This was urgent; they couldn't have Moony catch onto the scent. If he caught wind of human flesh, he would attack at once. It wasn't that he wanted to do it; Remus would be mortified if he woke up the next morning to discover he bit a human. However, they were dealing with Moony now. And Moony was a werewolf; he couldn't help the urge to bite into human flesh, it was his natural instinct.

Prongs and Padfoot immediately went back towards the heart of the woods, hoping to find Moony before he found the humans. Padfoot put his wet nose to the ground, trying to pick up the trail. Meanwhile, Prongs ran ahead, hoping to spot Moony.

He wandered deep into the woods, bending his head down every once in a while to try to smell Moony's scent. He had no luck though; he couldn't see or smell his werewolf friend anywhere.

Moments later, Prongs heard a deep bark, and he knew it came from Padfoot. Padfoot had located Moony, and from the tone of his bark, Prongs needed to run faster than he had ever run before to help. He knew the severity of the situation, knew that although Padfoot was strong, he couldn't do it alone.

He trampled plants and grass as he ran through the woods, not bothering to stick to the paths that the Marauders made during their midnight journeys. Instead, he opted for going the most direct path, even if it meant battling through tree branches.

Prongs's heart was racing; he could hear Moony's howls and Padfoot's barks becoming louder. He must be getting close. A branch whipped across his face, scratching at his skin. Prongs ignored the pain though and ran faster. He needed to help control Moony. He couldn't let those poor people get bit, especially for Remus's sake. He couldn't let his friend live with the fact that he was responsible for ruining these people's lives. He couldn't let that happen.

He jumped over a low bush and came towards a clearing. He could faintly see Padfoot jumping up into Moony, pushing him against a tree. It was the only way to confine the werewolf, trap him to he couldn't move. As Prongs neared, he could see Moony lashing his arms about, scratching Padfoot in the process. Still, Padfoot didn't give up, he continued to push Moony against the tree.

Once Prongs came towards them, he slammed his entire body weight against Moony, hoping it might subdue him. He hated the fact that it would leave awful effects on Remus in the morning, filling his body with aches and bruises, but it had to be done.

He glanced at Padfoot for a moment and they came to a mutual agreement that the best thing to do was to bring Moony back to the Shrieking Shack. It was the only place where he could truly be confined. The only downside to the plan was that they needed to bring him there, which would not be easy.

Prongs leaped over to Moony's side and forcefully prodded him with his large antlers. Meanwhile, Padfoot guarded Moony with his sharp barks, every so often nipping at his legs. They guided Moony towards the other end of the woods, towards the Shrieking Shack. It wasn't easy; they had to use a lot of force. Prongs found himself constantly standing on his back legs and jabbing at Remus's chest with his front hooves. Padfoot had to circle around the large beast, not allowing him to escape from his watchful eyes.

Once out of the woods, Moony caught scent of the humans again, which drove him wild. He nearly ran Padfoot over in an attempt to escape the animal's efforts to contain him. Luckily, Prongs leaped out in front of him, blocking his escape path with his large body.

Padfoot nipped at Moony's ankles, forcing him to move away from the humans and towards the Shack. Prongs provided an ample block, swiftly moving from side to side in his efforts to force Moony towards the Shrieking Shack.

Once they came close enough, Peter skittered down Prongs's leg and bolted toward the small lever. He plunged on top of it, making the door open at once. He stayed down there, waiting to see Moony's body shoved inside before closing the door.

Still, actually getting Moony into the Shrieking Shack proved to be a very difficult process, just as challenging as getting him out of the woods. Padfoot continued to nip at his ankles before eventually jumping at his legs to move the process along. Once close enough, he launched one final time on Moony's back, shoving him into the Shack.

Wormtail then jumped off the lever, making the door slam tightly shut. He darted back into the sight of his friends, only to see them both transforming into their human shapes. Wormtail then transformed back as well and joined James and Sirius as they ran away from the Shack. They could hear the sounds of Moony's howls, this time filled with sadness.

"Are you guys okay?" Peter whispered, looking at each of his friends as they wiped blood away from their faces and arms.

"Yeah," James replied, despite the fact that his arms felt as if they were going to fall off.

"Fine," Sirius added.

"We have to go see if those people are okay," James then announced.

"But we know that Moony didn't touch them, let's just get out of here before they owl the Ministry of Magic," Sirius hissed.

James looked at each of the two faces of his two friends. They were both fairly easy to read. Sirius had an intense stare in his eye, one that James had rarely ever seen. His act as the cool, rebel of the group could easily be seen. He wanted to get out of Hogsmeade, make a narrow dash from the authorities. That was typical Sirius Black. He was the bad boy just looking for some fun, which often got out of hand. Of course, James knew there was a deeper emotion in there too. As much as Sirius wanted his peers to view him as the type of guy that doesn't give a damn about school, he knew he was just barely sliding through Hogwarts. His grades were remarkable, but his attitude and pranks landed him in more detention in one month than most Hogwarts students received throughout their seven years.

Peter, on the other hand, had an anxious look on his face. He didn't want to get into any trouble either, but he craved James's opinion. He always looked up to James, always agreed with him on whatever he said. If James said they needed to check on the people tonight, Peter would willingly go with him, whereas Sirius would probably turn his shoulder the other way.

"Sirius, this isn't some dumb joke, we need to make sure that whoever it is, is okay," James insisted.

Sirius laughed in response and rolled his eyes once before saying, "And what're you going to say? Hello there fine people, just wanted to make sure the big, bad werewolf didn't scare you, even though I know he didn't come any where near you." His last sentence was full of mockery, portraying James as if he were a naïve child.

"You're funny," James sarcastically replied before becoming serious about the situation again. "I'm not kidding; we need to check on them."

"Fine, but if they owl the Ministry, I'm bolting as Padfoot," Sirius warned.

"I know," James replied, "Now, come on."

With that said, the three boys made their way towards the strangers that inhabited Hogsmeade during the night. They weren't sure of the exact location of the strangers, but tried their best to recall where Padfoot had smelled them. Once they realized their journey was starting to look unsuccessful, Sirius transformed into Padfoot once again and easily picked up a human scent.

He barked once and began to run towards the humans. In fact, he ran so far ahead, that within minutes, James and Peter couldn't see their doggy friend at all. They knew the general direction that Padfoot traveled, and followed that trail as best they could.

However, they didn't need to wander about Hogsmeade aimlessly for very long. Padfoot came running back towards them, transforming back into his human form in the process, meeting them at a jog.

Sirius was breathing heavily as he approached them, as if he had just sprinted a marathon. His hands immediately went to his knees, his body hunched over as he regained his breath.

"I, I saw who it was," he stated, still breathing deeply.

"Yeah?"

"We should have let Moony bite him," Sirius angrily replied, standing up as he spoke.

"Sirius, what are you talking about?" Peter questioned, a confused look across his face.

"It's Avery," Sirius snapped.

James's confusion quickly faded into anger. Avery? He was in Hogsmeade right now? The man that murdered his parents and almost succeeded in that same task with himself, Sirius, and Lily was in Hogsmeade. James had just saved one of Lord Voldermort's wizards from receiving Moony's werewolf bite. He couldn't believe it. He couldn't even begin to comprehend the fact that murderer was only a short distance away from him.

"He must be hiding out here for the night," Sirius said. "It's odd though, I didn't see Mulciber at all."

"Where is he?" James sternly asked.

"Out near the old cottage near Bryn's Forest," Sirius instantly said. "At least that's where he was heading. My guess is that he was sleeping somewhere else in town, but when he heard Moony's howls, he probably got scared and ran for it. He was only walking when I last saw him though, so he probably thinks the werewolf is gone."

"Okay," James said, rubbing his temples as he thought for a moment. "Peter, go back to the castle and tell Dumbledore. I don't care that he's probably asleep, go wake him up. The password to his office is Gumdrop. And don't tell him that we're Animagi, just say we snuck out of the castle and you came back to get him, Sirius and I are going to stay here."

"Why don't we all go get him?" Peter hesitantly asked.

"Because, I'm not going to let the man that murdered my parents escape this time. I want to see him rot in Azkaban," James bitterly answered. "Now, Peter, go, run. Go back through the Shrieking Shack as a rat and then transform back, and the cloak on your way too."

Peter didn't say anything; he only nodded and began to run back towards the Shrieking Shack.

"We're going to go follow Avery, right?" Sirius asked, a glint of deviousness in his eyes.

"You bet we are," James replied. The two boys then went running towards their enemy. James wished they could do this as animals; he wanted nothing more than to jab at Avery with his strong antlers a few times. However, he knew that was out of the question. They couldn't be seen in their Animagi forms, especially not by Dumbledore. They couldn't risk their highly illegal secret coming out in the open. Besides, a part of James wanted to see the look on Avery's face when he showed up.

As the two wizards ran through Hogsmeade, edging out of the town, James felt a rush of adrenaline. He was finally going to come face to face with one of the two people responsible for his parent's death. He was finally going to be given the opportunity to make Avery beg for dear life.

"Hey, James," Sirius said, his breath uneasy from their running.

"Yeah?"

"We don't have wands," Sirius informed him, a slight bit of hesitancy in his voice.

James continued running, but thought about Sirius's words. He was right; they didn't have wands. While in their animal forms, there was no use for wands. None of the marauders ever brought their wands with them during their full moon adventures. Shit. What where they going to do? James knew they still needed to get to Avery; he wasn't going to back down now. He didn't care if he was unarmed, he'd find another way.

Sirius slowed down his pace, forcing James to stop as well. They walked for a little bit, knowing that they were coming close to the old cottage. "James, what're we going to do about the wands?"

James thought about it for a second, lightly biting his lower lip. "Steal his."

Sirius smiled and slapped James on the back while saying, "That's my boy. Steal his wand, why didn't I think of that? Its genius, all we have to do is get it from him, and we outnumber him. It should be a piece of cake."

James looked at Sirius while he spoke, but felt hesitant about the words he spoke. It wouldn't be easy, he knew that. They would have to find a way to trick Avery, without the use of their wands.

"Marauder style?" Sirius asked as they neared the cottage.

"Marauder style," James agreed.

They crept up the stairs to the cottage, hoping that Avery wouldn't be able to hear their footsteps. It was an old cottage, one that had been abandoned nearly a hundred years ago after a severe fire burnt down one side of the house. Of course, it was fixed years ago, although no one ever wanted to purchase it. No one wanted a house that partially burnt down once; fires weren't good luck in the wizarding world.

James and Sirius slowly opened the door, however, to their unfortunate luck, a loud creaking noise sounded when it opened. The door was hardly ever open, rust making the creaking noise.

Still, James and Sirius continued into the house. They needed to make sure that Avery wouldn't apparate. They knew he wouldn't leave if he saw them there. They knew he thought he could easily murder the remained of the Potter family, as well as the blood traitor, Sirius Black.

They rounded a corner in the small cottage, only to see Avery shoving random objects into a small bag. He was anxiously looking around the room, making sure he had everything with him. It was obvious that he was looking for a quick escape.

"Going somewhere?" Sirius questioned, his voice calm and collected.

Avery jumped around, his wand pointed out in front of him, ready to attack. His stance loosened once he saw Sirius and James standing before him. He dropped the small bag he was carrying, not bothering to mess with it anymore. He now had no intention of leaving the deserted cottage; he would rather kill the two young wizards.

"Sirius Black, I'm surprised to see you here," Avery sneered. "Aren't you supposed to be at school, with your beloved Headmaster?"

"You've got to break a few rules every now and then," Sirius responded, still sounding very confident. Meanwhile, James stood slightly behind his friend, forcing himself to not launch at Avery.

"Ah, the true words of a Black," Avery replied, a smile gleaming at his lips. It was a cold smile, one that sent shivers up James's back.

"You can talk all about my dreaded family, Avery, I don't care about them. You can relate me to them all you want, it's not going to get under my skin this time," Sirius said, still staring at the man in front of him.

"What I don't understand, is why you're here in the first place, when you know I'm just going to kill you," Avery coldly stated.

"Where's Mulciber?" Sirius questioned, changing the subject at once.

Avery bitterly looked down at the ground and spat. "That filthy traitor left me, similar to how you left your parents."

Sirius took a few steps closer and carefully walked in a circle around Avery, leaving James to stand in the doorway. Avery's eyes followed Sirius, his head whipping around to watch the young wizard's every move.

"That's where you're wrong," Sirius began, "I didn't leave my parents; they disowned me." With that said, he launched at Avery, tackling him to the ground.

James saw that as his cue and immediately ran forward, hoping to force the wand out of Avery's hand. He wasn't lucky enough though, Avery was smarter than they thought he was. Before James could even reach for the wand, Avery hit Sirius with a curse, hauling him across the room. He then turned to see James running at him and hit him with the same curse, sending James right back where he started, only this time he hit the wall.

James felt his back begin to bruise, his already sore muscles becoming even worse. He wasn't going to give up though; he was determined to fight back. He ran forward again, hoping to scare Avery into dropping his wand, but once again, it didn't work. Avery pointed his wand at James and yelled out another curse, although James was able to dodge this one.

"What? You're not going to get your own wand out and fight like a real wizard?" Avery questioned, his eyes darting between Sirius and James.

Neither wizard said anything, nor did they look at each other. Instead, they continued to stare at Avery, advancing on him with very small steps.

"Or is it that you haven't got a wand?" Avery guessed. Although both James and Sirius tried to conceal their surprise at his ability to guess their situation, both of their faces slipped up for a moment. Avery knew at once that his assumption was correct; he was dealing with two unarmed, Hogwarts students.

Not allowing Avery's words to get to him, Sirius ran forward again. He felt as if he were Padfoot and Avery was Moony, reenacting the efforts to control a rabid werewolf. Only now, the werewolf also held a wand. Avery sent another curse towards Sirius, but Sirius was too fast and darted out of the way. The curse hit an old lamp instead, shattering it across the floor.

"Now, what on earth are two wizards doing without their wands?" Avery asked.

Still, he didn't receive a response, only two students advancing on him. Sirius and James glanced at each other for a quick millisecond, hoping that Avery wouldn't notice. They knew it was time, knew that Avery could only fend off one of them at a time.

In an instant, they were both charging towards Avery. Panicking slightly, Avery's eyes widened before he pointed his wand at Sirius and hit him with a curse, this time not missing his body at all. Sirius immediately hollered in pain. He wasn't sure which curse Avery used, but it was certainly excruciating. He felt as if someone had taken a dagger to every inch of his legs, piercing his skin. All he could do was bring his hands to his legs, hoping that the pressure would ease the pain. It didn't, and instead Sirius was left to scream.

The one bright side to Sirius taking the curse was that James was able to tackle Avery to the ground. His hand grabbed toward the wand and he yanked it, but Avery's grip was strong. He wasn't going to let go without a fight.

James brought his other hand towards the wand, hoping it would provide enough strength to ease it out of Avery's grasp. However, Avery brought his knee to James's stomach at that instant, forcing James to buckle downward. Still, he kept one hand on the wand. He knew that as long as one hand was still there, Avery wouldn't have total control of the situation.

With all his might, James hammered his fist into Avery's shoulder. Still, it did nothing but irritate his opponent. Avery let out a small squeal, but didn't release his grasp on the wand. Both men knew that it was life or death, as to whoever possessed the wand.

"Let go," Avery forcefully muttered, just barely audible from Sirius's moans.

"Never," James replied, just as strong as Avery.

Grunting, Avery tried his best to position the wand towards Sirius again but James fought against it with all his might. He couldn't let Avery hit his best friend with another curse, it was bad enough that Sirius was suffering now.

James's eyes met Avery's and he felt his heart beat increase another notch. There wasn't any sympathy in Avery's eyes; only pure hatred. He wanted nothing more than to finish off the job as far as the Potter family was concerned. He knew his master would be pleased with him if he succeeded in the task.

Suddenly, a revelation came to James. While looking into Avery's eyes, he saw pure evil. He knew that it was up to him to destroy this, send away one of Voldermort's creations. With that in mind, James did the only thing he could think of. He knew it was a low blow, but he did it anyway. He launched his face towards Avery's arm, which held onto the wand, and bit as hard as he could.

James felt the cloth of Avery's short on his tongue, tasted the sweaty fabric. It was an awful taste, but he knew he had to do it. He knew it was the only way to end this physical duel.

Avery let go at once and screamed out in pain. His other hand immediately flew to his wounded arm, blood soaking his fingers.

James clutched the wand at once and quickly pointed it at Sirius, ending the dreadful pain in his legs. He then pointed it at Avery and leapt to his feet, not wanting the Dark wizard to get the better of him.

"You bit me," he said, stunned as he sat on the floor.

"But I got the wand," James responded, heavily breathing as he spoke.

Avery looked up at him with terror. He could feel the color draining from his face; not only from the wound he suffered from, but also because he knew James Potter was ready to kill him.

Sirius, still seated on the floor, looked up at James, instantly taking in the situation. He knew what happened, he knew that their plan had succeeded. James possessed the wand, while Avery had nothing to defend himself.

"You're a worthless piece of scum," James said, taking a few steps closer to Avery, the wand still pointing at his heart.

Avery didn't say anything, only continued to look up at him with the same fear.

"Do it, James," Sirius panted.

James knew exactly what he meant. He was in the position to murder Avery now. There was nothing stopping him. After all, it would be revenge. He would be able to rightfully murder the man who took away his parent's lives, the man who made him parentless at the young age of eighteen.

Staring down at Avery, James felt the urge to do it. This man was against everything that James stood for. He supported Lord Voldermort, he was the Dark Arts. It was men like Avery that wanted to rid the world of muggles and muggleborn wizards. It disgusted James, to even think that people could be so heartless as to only care for purebloods.

Then again, he felt his heart soften. Could he truly murder this man? He had accidentally caused the death of another of Lord Voldermort's supporters only weeks ago, which left him devastated. Could he really do it again?

"Please don't kill me," Avery suddenly yelled, his voice conveying every look that James saw in his pathetic eyes. "Please don't."

"Just do it," Sirius countered. "He killed your parents, James. The man's a murderer and a good-for-nothing Death Eater."

James let both of the words echo through his brain. He felt his breathing become even heavier, as if he were back on the ground, battling with Avery once again. He watched as Avery looked up at him, a small amount of hope present in his eyes. He was begging James to not kill him, pleading with his eyes.

On the other hand, he thought about what Sirius said. Avery did kill his parents. They probably looked up at Avery, just as Avery was looking up at him now. They probably prayed he wouldn't kill them, but he did it anyway. He murdered them.

"Please don't…"

"Do it, for God's sake..."

"Please, I'm begging you..."

"James, he's a murderer..."

"Please..."

"He killed your parents..."

"Find it in the goodness of your heart…"

"He's a Death Eater…"

"I'm begging…"

"He killed them…"

"Please, please, please…"

All of their words were scrambling through his brain. He could hear their words echoing, begging him to do it one way or another. He felt an enormous amount of pressure on his shoulders, building up enough to cause a throbbing motion in his head. He just needed this all to stop. He needed everything to stop.

Breathing deeply, James glanced from Sirius to Avery. What was he going to do? Sirius's points were valid. He needed to redeem his parent's memories, he needed to end the life of the miserable man that sat in front of him.

James pointed his wand at Avery, his lips starting to form words. He could see Avery tightly shut his eyes, as if he were too afraid to watch the horror he knew was coming.

Suddenly, James dropped his arm to his side. He couldn't do it. He couldn't live knowing that he purposely ended this man's life. He wasn't a natural born killer; he wasn't going to cross the boundaries that played with life and death.

"James, what are you doing?" Sirius asked, urgency present in his voice.

"I can't do it," he sighed.

Avery then opened his eyes, a grateful look plastered across his face. He took a few deep breath, relaxing into his stance on the ground.

"He deserves to go to Azkaban," James suddenly said. "He deserves to rot there." That was what James truly wanted. He didn't want to be a killer, but he still wanted Avery to pay for the crime he committed. He didn't want the murderer of his parents to get away easy. James wanted Avery to pay a long visit to the Dementors.

Just then, they heard a noise in the cottage. James felt his hand curl tightly around the wand, not sure who the person could be. In fact, all three wizards shared the same look across their faces. Each one was scared and curious.

The footsteps came louder and louder before a tall wizard with long silver hair, a long beard, and half-moon glasses appeared. He instantly pointed his wand at Avery, his eyes locked on the Death Eater.

"James, Sirius, you may leave now," Dumbledore said. "Wait outside, I'll be there shortly. The Ministry should be arriving any minute now."

James and Sirius looked at each other, not sure if they should obey the Headmaster's orders. Reluctantly, James dropped Avery's wand on the floor, walked over to Sirius, and helped him to his feet, draping the arm of his best friend across his shoulder.

A moment later, the Ministry Aurors arrived. They shoved past the two boys, each one pointing their wands at Avery. There must have been at least ten Aurors present, as if half the squad came for the arrest of Avery.

"We'll take it from here, Albus," one of the older men said. James peered at him and squinted his eyes, trying to figure out exactly who the man was. The moment he saw the Auror's eyes, he was able to identify the man. It was Mad-Eye Moody. He was one of the best Aurors the Ministry has ever seen, according to James's father anyway. James had met the famous Auror once before, while visiting his father at work one day when he was eight. Mad-Eye Moody appeared to be a bit crazy to him, but his father assured him that he was the best in the business and to never question the works of Mad-Eye.

Dumbledore then moved away from Avery and tucked his own wand back in his pocket. He turned to look at his two students and a sudden look of relief came across his face. He walked over to the two young wizards and did something he had never done with a student before; he gave them both a large hug. It was just a simple hug; one similar to one a father may give his son. That was exactly how Dumbledore felt too. He was relieved to see the two students he admired most safe and alive.

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**Author's Note 2: **Hi all! I hope you enjoyed the long awaited chapter 49! I'm sorry about the delay, I got pretty caught up in finishing "How to Lose James" and starting "The One That Got Away." But I promise, I won't neglect this story any more! I really hope you enjoyed the chapter (notice any similarities between James and Harry when it came to James making the decision to not to kill Avery?) and it's also set the new record for the longest chapter I have written (23 Word document pages!) Anyways, please review, it makes the words flow much easier from my brain to the keyboard!


	50. Loving You

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to TakenFlight, JPx3LE, dancechic12345, Your Authoress, Heather gernenz, zuska1985, Red Hair Green Eyes, sugur-huny-bun, MissMrprk, An Aspiring Author, AnIrishLily, Jutey, Miss Myrtle360, EastCoastHPgrl, Violetcrumble10391, Trocle, redglasses, and Katie Pie for reviewing!

Also, THANKS A MILLION to my newest Beta, Jen for helping me edit this chapter!

Please enjoy!

* * *

Lily sighed as she heard her alarm clock go off. She felt as if she could stay in bed for another five hours. With James gone last night, she had spent hours doing her schoolwork. She had caught up on a few papers, most of which she'd planned to do a couple of nights ago, but had been distracted due to the events in James's life. In fact, she didn't get to bed that night until two o'clock in the morning.

Now though, it was early in the morning and she really wished that she had put her work away last night and gone to bed. She groaned slightly, but threw her covers off anyway.

After showering, getting dressed, and putting on a small amount of make-up, Lily set out for the Great Hall. She walked down the stairs, trying not to make them creak. She hated that sound, always thought it made too much noise for her light footsteps.

Once she entered the Gryffindor common room, she was surprised to see another student down there. She couldn't quite make out who it was, for she could only see the very top of the student's blonde hair peeking out from above the large plush chairs that sat near the fireplace. Lily debated whether or not she should go over to the student, see exactly who it was. After all, it could be written off as her duty as Head Girl.

In the end, she opted to tip toe over to the student. Once she came closer, she rounded the chair to get a better look at who it was. To her surprise, it was Peter Pettigrew, soundly sleeping in front of the dying fire.

She was curious as to why the boy was here, and not up in his dorm room. Her first instinct concerning the matter was that James and Sirius were being assholes to him, picking on him so severely that he'd left their room. Despite the fact that Peter was one of their best friends, they often found it easy to degrade the poor boy, just because he was smaller and weaker than the two of them.

Still, Lily found that explanation hard to believe. Over the years, the two Marauders had grown up a lot; they hardly ever teased Peter to the extreme any more. Not to mention the fact that last night had been a full moon-- they wouldn't be mean to Peter while in their Animagi forms.

"Peter," Lily said lightly.

She didn't receive any response from the slumbering boy.

"Peter," she said again, this time a bit louder.

Still, nothing.

Lily frowned as she looked at the blonde-haired boy. With her arms crossed in front of her chest, she took a step closer to him. She leaned down close to his ear and said, "Peter, wake up for God's sake."

That sent him jumping to his feet, startled at the loud noise in his ear. He looked around for a moment, as if he were a lost child in a large shopping mall. Finally, his eyes settled on Lily and he sighed. "God Lily, you scared me."

"Sorry, but I thought you might need a wake-up call," she apologized, now feeling guilty for waking him up. She then asked, "Peter, why are you sleeping down here and not upstairs?"

Peter suddenly got a very grave look across his face. With his eyes glued to the floor, he replied, "Something happened last night."

Lily felt her heart stop. How could something have happened? James had assured her that everything was always okay. So many questions scrambled through her mind. Was James okay? Had Remus bitten someone? Had they been caught in their Animagi forms? Were all the Marauders going to face years in Azkaban for breaking the law?

"Where's James?" she finally asked, her face becoming pale and her heart speeding up.

"He's in the hospital wing; he's okay," Peter assured her. "I went to check on him, Sirius, and Remus early this morning. James is fine, I promise. He's only got a few scratches and bruises-- nothing that Madame Lingwood can't fix."

"Sirius?" Lily asked, her eyes filled with worry.

"Not as good," Peter answered, biting his lip as he spoke. Earlier this morning, when he traveled down to the hospital wing, the only one of his dear friends who'd been awake was James. He told Peter the entire story-- everything that occurred after Peter left to fetch the headmaster.

"And Remus?"

"Worse than he usually is after a transformation, but not as bad off as Sirius," he replied.

"Peter, what happened last night?" Lily asked, her emerald eyes latching onto Peter's watery blue ones.

"We went to Hogsmeade-- you know, the usual routine. Everything was going fine; we were just playing a game. Then Padfoot smelled something… people," Peter began.

Lily gasped as she learned the story. She listened intently to the rest of Peter's tale, her hands covering her lips for the most part. She hated hearing about the physical actions that had to be taken to control Remus, but knew she needed to hear them. She needed to hear exactly how Remus was injured.

"Then James said that we needed to check on the person, make sure he was okay," Peter said. "We weren't sure where he went though, so Sirius became Padfoot again. He ran up ahead of James and me, leaving us behind. He came back a couple of minutes later, transformed back into himself, and told us who it was."

"Who?" Lily asked, intently listening to the story.

"Avery," he replied.

"Oh my God, what happened next?" She was on the edge of her seat as she spoke, staring at Peter with pure astonishment.

"James told me to go get Dumbledore, and then he and Sirius went on to try to get to Avery," Peter concluded.

"But they didn't have wands, did they?"

"Nope."

"How did they manage to come out alive?"

"Ask James. He told me everything, but I think you should hear it from him, not me. I wouldn't do the story any justice," Peter said.

"Oh my God," Lily said once again. "Are they still in the hospital wing?"

"Yeah, James said Madame Lingwood wouldn't let him go for another day, Remus for another couple days, and Sirius can't go for at least a week," he answered.

"Okay, I've got to go see them," Lily said, standing up and making her way towards the portrait hole. She paused for a moment and turned to look at Peter before asking, "Are you coming?"

"I was down there earlier this morning. I'm going to go take a shower, and I'll go back in a little while," he replied. "I'll let you see James for a bit."

Lily smiled at Peter as she left the room. There was something about him that she liked, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Maybe it was the fact that he knew she wanted to see James by herself now, or perhaps it was the boyish traits he possessed. Either way, she grew to like Peter more and more each day she spent time with him.

Lily thought about Peter more as she wandered down the castle halls toward the hospital wing. For the first time, she could truly see why James, Sirius, and Remus enjoyed his company. He certainly wasn't the bravest of the four boys, or the smartest, but he did bring something to the group.

Her thoughts of Peter were easily dismissed once she entered the hospital wing. She saw James sitting up in his bed, a bored expression across his face. She knew he hated being there; there wasn't ever any excitement.

"Hey you," she softly said as she neared his bed.

James's face lit up as he saw her smiling face. She looked beautiful today, just as she did every day. She wore her Hogwarts school uniform, which generally wasn't flattering on anyone. However, Lily seemed to pull it off. It fit her in all the right places and her emerald eyes stood out against the black robes.

"Lily," he said, beckoning her to come closer.

"How're you feeling?" she asked as she approached him, her eyes wandering up and down his face and arms. She could see where his flesh was bruised and the thin scar that ran along his cheek.

"Better now that I see you," he answered, trying his best to sound smooth.

Lily only rolled her eyes and smiled. Sometimes James could act so oddly towards her, as if he were still trying to impress her. Yet, it was that small aspect of his personality that she found charming and sweet.

"You flatter me," she finally said, a joking tone in her voice.

He grinned at her, revealing rows of sparkling teeth. "You know, I don't bite; you can come a little bit closer."

Once again, Lily found herself chuckling at him. Still, she did as she was told and wandered even closer. Once she stood at his bed, she reached out and lightly pushed a stray piece of hair out of his eyes. In the process, she saw another cut, this one just above his left eyebrow. Her fingers accidentally brushed the wound, making him wince beneath her touch.

"Sorry," she apologized.

"It's okay," he replied.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, it's just a few cuts and bruises. It's nothing Madame Lingwood's potion won't cure," he answered, flashing a mocking grin. It was a commonly known fact that all of the potions that Madame Lingwood gave her students tasted absolutely repulsive. True, they yielded excellent results-- cuts and scrapes were usually gone within twelve hours-- but they tasted like sour milk.

"I'm sorry," she said, sympathizing with her boyfriend.

"Don't be; it's worth it," James replied. He then reached out and grabbed Lily by the waist, pulling her onto his bed. She gasped as she landed on the cushioned surface, surprised by his action. She didn't complain though; she enjoyed being close to James. Just feeling his breath on the back of her neck reassured her that he was okay.

Lily leaned her head against James's white pillow and brought her hand to his thigh. She let it rest there, above the blankets, just a simple reminder that she loved him.

"Peter told me what happened," Lily quietly began, "but he said you should be the one to tell me what happened after he left to get Dumbledore."

"When'd you see Peter?" he questioned.

"Right before I came here; the poor kid fell asleep in the common room. He was really worried about you guys," she answered.

"He's a good kid," James stated, thinking about his slightly chubby friend.

"Yeah," she replied, "And he admires you a lot too. But anyway, tell me what happened."

"Well," James began, looking down at the top of her red head as she snuggled against his chest. "It was really dark out, and Sirius had just come back to tell Peter and me that it was Avery in the old cottage at the edge of town. I sent Peter to get Dumbledore, knowing that he would be able to handle the situation better than anyone else. Then Sirius and I headed toward the cottage. We could smell the danger in the air, but it didn't stop us…"

At that, Lily looked up at James, one eyebrow raised higher than the other. "James, are you pulling my leg here?" she asked, a skeptical look written all across her face.

"Not at all," he fibbed. Okay, so not all of his story was completely accurate; they couldn't exactly smell the danger, but it made the story sound so much cooler. James playfully ran his rough fingers through Lily's red locks before he continued with his tale, exaggerating nearly every aspect of the story.

"Are you telling the truth?" she asked, peering up at him with her deep emerald eyes.

"For the most part," he honestly replied before bending his head down, meeting her lips with his. The kiss felt like magic to him. It had just the right mix of tenderness and passion.

Somehow, Lily and James maneuvered their way around the bed so that they were in a more ideal position. James was still beneath the covers of the hospital bed and Lily was still outside the covers, creating a boundary between their bodies. They were cautious, taking care to avoid making James's already bruised skin feel any pressure.

After several minutes of kissing, the young couple broke apart. Lily hovered above James's lips, staring down at his longing face. "We really shouldn't be doing this here," she began, "Madame Lingwood could walk in any second or one of your friends could wake up."

"She came in just before you arrived," James replied. "And Remus and Sirius won't be up for hours; she gave them a sleeping potion."

"Are you sure?" Lily questioned.

"We can close the curtains too."

Lily looked around the bed, but didn't see any curtains. "James, what are talking about?"

"Magic, love, magic," he cheekily answered. He reached into Lily's robe and took out her wand, knowing exactly where she kept her most prized possession. He then said a simple spell, conjuring white curtains all around the four-poster bed.

Lily smiled at him once more before lowering her face back onto his. She had missed this; just the two of them together sharing sweet kisses. With everything going on, it seemed like it had been ages since she and James last shared a kiss-- well, anything more than just a peck on the lips anyways.

She adored his kisses. His lips against hers always seemed to make her knees buckle and her heart melt. It was as if James was pouring his entire soul and body into one simple kiss, reassuring her that she was the only woman he would ever love.

After several minutes of kissing, she broke away from his lips once more and stared deeply into his hazel eyes. It was at that moment that she truly took in the story that James had told her concerning the previous night. He could have died out there; he'd put his life in danger. If things had worked out differently, she wouldn't be able to kiss him right now. She wouldn't be able to see him right now.

She felt her eyes begin to well up, which she tried to hide by burying her face into his shoulder, as if she wanted to cuddle with him. Lily didn't know what caused this sudden outburst of emotion-- perhaps her lack of sleep over the past few nights. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't received more than six hours of sleep any night for the past week.

"Lils," James gently said, running his fingers through her soft hair. Hearing the tone of his voice, Lily knew that James could tell she was crying and was trying to figure out what had prompted her tears.

"You could've died," she whispered, still pressing her face against his body, which muffled her words.

"Sorry, love, can't quite make out what you're saying," he teased, trying to make her smile.

"You could've died," she repeated, her voice just as indistinct as before.

James sighed, causing Lily's head to ride up and down with his deep breath. "Lily, sweetie, I love you. Don't worry about me… sure, things could have ended badly last night, but they didn't. I'm okay, I promise you that… And Sirius and Remus are recovering pretty well too; they'll be back to normal in no time at all. I guarantee, in a few days time you'll be wishing that Sirius was still injured just so that he'll stop bugging you."

James's last words made Lily smile and nearly choke on her tears as she softly chuckled. She knew he was only joking about that last remark, but it did ring true. Of course, Lily would never wish ill of Sirius, but she was certain he would continue his routine of making small, playful jokes about Lily.

"There, I knew I could make you smile," James softly told her, kissing the top of her head.

"You did, but I still worry about you," she replied, revealing her puffy red eyes to him.

"I know you do, but I promise you, everything will always be okay. After all, I am James Potter, and nothing can keep me away from you," he teased. He was in his joking mode today, which Lily was actually grateful for. After serious events occurred, James had the tendency to choose one of two different means of coping, the first being comedy, the other being sadness and depression.

Lily's tears stopped after a few moments, and she viciously wiped at her eyes. She then rested her head against James's shoulder again, this time so that she could look up at the ceiling. She felt James's arm snake beneath her, holding her close to his body. They lay in the bed in silence for a few moments, James softly rubbing her upper arm with his hand.

"Do you realize that we're only going to be at Hogwarts for another four weeks?" Lily asked.

"I know; it's hard to believe."

"It's been like a second home for the past seven years, and after the next four weeks go by, we'll probably never see it again," she commented. "Does that ever scare you?"

"I try not to think about it," he replied, dropping his funny guy routine and becoming serious. He knew that Lily needed him right now, needed him to be sincere for her.

"We've had so many good times here," she added.

"Of course we have; it's where I met you," he sweetly told her, making a light shade of red appear at her cheeks.

"What's going to happen to us once we leave?"

"What do you mean?"

"We won't see each other every day… I mean, I'll be at my parent's home in Surrey for a while, until I get a job and can afford a place of my own. And you-- well, you and Sirius are going to move in together, right?" Lily wished she hadn't mentioned anything about post-Hogwarts as soon as the words left her lips. How could she be so stupid to mention that she was gong to live with her parents when James had no one to go to?

"Yeah, Sirius and I will probably get a flat somewhere," he replied, still playfully rubbing her arm with his fingers. "But that doesn't mean I won't see you often. I mean, Lils, think about it. Sirius and I will have our own place; you'll be able to come and visit whenever you like because there will be no one telling you that you can't come over."

"Except for my parents."

"I suppose," James agreed. "But other than them, there's not going to be anyone who can keep me away from you. You want to know why?"

"Yeah."

"Because I love you," he said, kissing the side of her head after he spoke.

"I love you too," she replied. "But is that enough?"

"Trust me, Lils, there's nothing in this world that can keep me from you… there's nothing in this world that can stop me from loving you," he answered.

Lily tilted her head upward and met James's lips with her own once again. He spoke the truth; nothing could stop them from loving each other. The emotions that they felt for each other were too strong for anyone to tear apart; they loved each other too much.

Once they separated, Lily whispered, "I love you, James Potter."

"I love you too," he whispered back.

Of course, their sentimental moment didn't last long, nor should they have expected it to. After all, they were located in the hospital wing, where three of the four Marauders occupied beds.

"Hey, lovebirds," Sirius called, "Would you mind stopping all that romantic crap, it's making me sick."

Lily laughed as she got off James's bed and opened the curtains. Across from her, she saw both Remus and Sirius sitting up in their beds, both of their arms crossed in front of their chests.

"Glad to see the two of you are finally awake," Lily informed them.

"Glad to see that you and James aren't permanently connected at the hip," Sirius shot back, a grin appearing on his face.

"You feeling okay?" she asked as she sat down on the edge of a nearby bed.

"In a little bit of pain, but otherwise feeling great," Sirius replied.

"Remus?"

"The usual," he answered, tenderly rubbing his arm.

To make the group complete, Peter came bursting through the doors, huffing and puffing as he dropped down on another empty bed. "I'm sorry I'm late. I was on my way down here when… when McGonagall saw me not heading toward her class… I've never run so fast in my entire life as I did trying to escape from her."

Everyone laughed at Peter's story, glad to hear that everything was normal. It was typical for the Marauders, who were always running away from trouble.

"Did I miss anything?" Peter suddenly asked.

"Just James telling Lily that in a couple of days she was going to wish I was injured again," Sirius slyly replied, eyeing his best friend as he spoke.

"Wait, you were awake for that long?" James questioned. "And you didn't say anything?"

"It was like listening to one of those Muggle devices; what's it called-- a rodeo?" Sirius replied.

He was instantly corrected when Lily swiftly said, "Radio."

"Yes, the radio. I could hear what was going on, but not see a single damn thing," he sweetly said.

Sitting with the Marauders, Lily quickly glanced at each one of the four boys. She couldn't believe it had taken her until her seventh year to realize what amazing people they were. Now, she couldn't imagine life without them. She adored her own friends, but the bonds she'd made with the Marauders seemed like they'd last for life.

As the five seventh-year students laughed and make jokes, Lily knew that she would always regard Hogwarts as her home. She had met truly incredible people here, formed friendships she knew would last a lifetime.

With just one month left at her beloved school, Lily knew that it was time she started making the best of it. She wasn't going to lose another moment of time away from the friends she loved.

* * *

**Author's Note 2: **Okay, I know it's very sappy, but I was in the mood for one of these. And before anyone gets on my case about Peter, he was their friend at the time, I can't just disregard him. He was part of the Marauders, so he needs to be in the story. Also, although this may seem like an ending to a story, it's not, I promise. As I mentioned earlier, I was just in the mood for writing a fluffy piece, so I came out with this. Anyway, please review!


	51. The Courtroom

**Disclaimer**: All the characters that you recognize belong to J. K. Rowling.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to Rylie D, JPx3LE, Red Hair Green Eyes, Untamed Loner, AnIrishLily, dancechic12345, redglasses, serindraxx, Miss Myrtle360, zuska1985, potterchik, meeeeeee, Jutey, heather Gernenz, Super Cara, Trocle, coffeegirl123, waterdreamer, and 4BlOnDiE4 for reviewing!

Once again, thanks to Jen, my beta for editing this chapter for me as well!

* * *

"Are you ready?" Albus Dumbledore asked his three favorite students. His eyes weren't sparkling today, nor did they show any sign of happiness. The blazing fire only distinguished his rigid look.

Lily, James, and Sirius all nodded their heads in approval. Although Lily wanted to spend every moment of her last month at Hogwarts with her friends, this was not what she had anticipated. She had pictured herself and her friends spending time outdoors together, perhaps lounging by the lake. However, the three seventh year students could do no such thing on the beautiful Saturday afternoon. Instead, they were expected at the tenth floor of the Ministry of Magic: the courtrooms.

Less than a week after Avery's capture, his case was processed and he was going before a judge. The Ministry requested the presence of his captors, as well as anyone who witnessed the confession of the murder of the Gerald and Linda Potter: Lily, James, and Sirius.

Dumbledore fought this request at once, arguing that a courtroom was no place for students. However, the Ministry insisted that it would only land Avery behind bars in Azkaban sooner if the students were present.

That was why the three students and Dumbledore were standing in front of the fireplace now. They were using the only fireplace in Hogwarts that could physically transport witches and wizards in and out of Hogwarts via the Floo Network.

Dumbledore grabbed a handful of Floo powder and stared at the fireplace for a moment, then glanced briefly at his students. Lily looked down at the ground, then back at the fireplace. She couldn't keep her eyes focused on one area for more than ten seconds.

James and Sirius, on the other hand, behaved quite the opposite. There was a mere hint of glee in their eyes, as if participating in the trial would make everything better again. A mixture of childish excitement and ruthless determination filled both their eyes.

With one swift motion, Dumbledore threw his handful of Floo powder into the fireplace and said his destination. Before entering the fireplace, he instructed his three students to follow him immediately. Once Dumbledore disappeared from their sight, the three students followed him into the fireplace. Sirius and James were excited, Lily more nervous than ever before.

In a matter of seconds, Lily found herself stumbling out of the fireplace, nearly knocking James over in the process. "You okay?" he asked, a smirk across his face.

"I'm fine," she huffed as she brushed off her robes. "I just want to get this over with."

Not knowing what to say, James lightly bit the side of his upper lip and shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't wait to see Avery standing in the middle of the courtroom, begging for mercy. True, he didn't want to physically murder Avery himself, but he would truly enjoy watching him sentenced to life in Azkaban. MSOffice1

"Miss Evans, Mr. Potter, don't fall behind," Dumbledore firmly said, looking back at his two seventh year students with sad, yet determined eyes.

"Yes, sir," Lily automatically said and rushed ahead, pulling James with her so that they could join the headmaster and Sirius.

As she followed Dumbledore, Lily couldn't help but look around. The Ministry of Magic was spectacular. Looking back to where she entered the room, she noticed several fireplaces lining the wall, witches and wizards popping out of them every now and then. Across the hall, several more fireplaces stood. A large sign above them indicated that they were for departures only. In the middle of the hallway, the object that caught her attention the most was a large fountain. It contained five statues: a wizard, witch, centaur, goblin, and house-elf. The wizard stood in the very middle and he extended his wand high up into the sky, as if to show off his magical powers. The other statues were centered around him, and all but the witch were looking up adoringly at him. It appeared that only the witch was considered his equal.

As they came closer to the fountain, Lily noticed that there were Knuts and Sickles sprawled out across the fountain's floor. A sign nearby informed her that all the proceeds went toward St. Mungo's Hospital. As if on cue, the moment she finished reading the sign, she saw James toss a Sickle into the fountain. A huge smile spread across her face.

They reached the Security Desk, where a short man with tired eyes and grey hair sat. "Wands, please," he said as they approached, not even looking up from his newspaper.

He extended his hands and gathered all four wands. It wasn't until he successfully held them in his hand that he actually looked up. He smiled at once and greeted, "Albus, how rude of me; I didn't think you would be arriving so soon."

"It's quite all right, Theodore," Dumbledore replied, a sparkle reappearing in his eye.

"I just need to weigh the wands, just in case," Theodore explained to them, noticing the three students.

Once he finished his job, he returned the wands and gave the four visitors nametags. "Well, Albus, you know where to go… I'll set the door to open to your wand."

"Thank you, Theodore," Dumbledore politely responded, before directing his attention to his students and instructing, "Come along."

Dumbledore led the way, taking long strides so that his students didn't have time to stare at their surroundings. MSOffice2 After several minutes of rushing down the hallway, Dumbledore eased his pace, allowing the students to take a breath as they walked.

It wasn't until that moment that the three students realized that they were in a dark corridor and that no one else was in sight. James looked curiously around, wondering where he could possibly be. As a child, he had spent countless hours in the Ministry of Magic, visiting his father at work. However, he had never seen this corridor before.

"Sir, where are we going?" James suddenly questioned.

"To the courtrooms," Dumbledore answered.

"Why aren't we taking the elevators?"

"You can't reach the courtrooms by elevator, at least not the main elevator. MSOffice3 "

James didn't say anything more, only walked beside Sirius down the hallway. He knew that Lily was behind him, he could hear the tapping of her heels with each step she took. He wondered if he should hold up a bit and walk with her. Casually, he looked back at her and noticed that she was staring at the walls, at each picture. No, she didn't want to walk with him; she was too deep in her own thoughts about the day, about her testimony.

James twisted his own head to look at the portraits on the walls. They were all of different angles of a courtroom trial. One portrait focused on the lawyer giving his speech, another on the judge who intently listened to the scenario before him. One was of the criminal himself, being dragged away, towards Azkaban.

Soon enough, the images came to a halt, as did Professor Dumbledore. He touched his wand to a panel on the wall, which instantly made a small beeping sound before the wall in front of them began to rattle and move, each strip of wall binding together to form an entrance way.

Once all four of them were through the entrance, it quickly snapped shut, sealing their exit. In front of them, doors to a small elevator opened up. The four of them entered, and once inside, saw that the elevator was no longer small; it could probably fit a minimum of fifty people inside. Dumbledore pushed a small button-- the only button in the entire elevator, which traveled between the courtrooms and the ground floor, with no other stops.

Once they reached their destination, they piled out of the elevator and headed for the wooden doors that led to the courtroom. As they approached them, Dumbledore stopped for a moment and turned to look at his students. "Are you three sure you want to do this?"

"Yes, sir," both James and Sirius instantly said, smiles still present on both of their faces.

Lily paused for a moment, but answered, "Yes."

Dumbledore sighed once before pushing open the large double doors, revealing a stadium full of people, all watching the floor. They filed into their marked seats, which were just a row behind the action on the floor.

A few minutes after they settled into their seats, a large man with hard, brown eyes walked through another set of doors and up to the judge's seat, which looked more like a wooden throne than anything else. Next, nearly twenty witches and wizards entered the same set of doors: the jury.

Finally, a third set of doors burst open. At first, all Lily could see were two extremely large, powerfully strong men. She could tell they were grasping onto something, but couldn't tell what it was. She leaned forward a bit, trying to see the object that they struggled with.

In a matter of seconds, she saw the object in the men's hands, or, rather, the person. It was Avery. She nearly gasped when she saw him; in the short time that passed between the incident in the barn and now, his appearance had changed severely. He looked slimmer than before, and his formerly clean-shaven face now sported a gruff-looking beard. His eyes didn't hold the same laughter as before; now they were stone cold.

Out of the corner of her ear, she heard Sirius whisper, "Why didn't you kill him when you were given the chance?" His tone wasn't sharp or bitter, but relaxed instead. It was as if it was a simple question, such as, "Have you done the Charms homework yet?" instead of a serious question that dealt with death.

"I couldn't," James whispered back, "Besides, Azkaban is worse."

For the first time that day, Lily felt a rush of pride run through her veins. Yes, James's excitement to attend the trial truly upset her, but his words of honesty made her heart pound with love. He wouldn't kill for revenge… he was too good for that.

"Order, order," the judge yelled, pounding the wooden desk in front of him with a mallet. The room quieted down at once, sending chills up Lily's spine. "Today, we will hold the trial of Gregory Avery, concerning two counts of murder and five attempts to murder."

The words stung into Lily's ears. The man before her eyes had murdered Gerald and Linda Potter. He had attempted to kill Sirius twice, James twice, and her once. This was her second time escaping death; how many more times would she have? No, she didn't want to think about that. She didn't want to think that she could be dead right now; she didn't want to think about seeing James and Sirius murdered by this man. She needed to focus her mind on something else, anything else.

"Mr. Avery, do you admit to what you have been charged with MSOffice4 ?" bellowed the lawyer, a man by the name of Andrew Ellison.

Avery didn't say a word. He only stood behind the bar of the steel cage he was in, staring down at the ground. He didn't look out at the audience, nor did he look at the jury or judge. If he were not in the center of the room, a spotlight beating down on him, he would have appeared to be invisible.

Ellison looked up at the judge for a moment before turning his eyes on the crowd. "Mr. Avery, I repeat, do you or do you not admit to what you have been charged with?"

Once again, there wasn't a response.

Ellison then turned to face the judge and asked, "Your Honor, do I have permission to bring my first witness to the stand?"

"Proceed," the judge instructed.

"Miss Lily Evans, please come forward," Ellison instructed.

Lily felt as if her entire body had shut down. She was immobilized. She needed to testify… first. How could this be? She wasn't aware that she would be the first to go under oath before the judge. She felt her heart speed up and her palms become sweaty. She looked to her right and saw Dumbledore looking down at her; there was still no twinkle behind his half-moon glasses. She then looked at James who gave her an encouraging smile and lightly patted her thigh.

With all her effort, Lily stood up and shakily made her way toward the center of the room. Ellison gestured toward the large wooden booth to the right of the judge's seat and Lily cautiously walked toward it. One of the large men who had escorted Avery into the room opened the small gate for her, as if he was being a kind gentleman at a restaurant rather than the gruff man that he truly was.

As Lily sat in her seat, she felt all eyes upon her and hated it. There was nowhere to hide beneath the strong lights that beamed over her shoulders. With her heart pounding, she glanced toward the judge and saw a gold nameplate, which read "Frederick Quincy Spalding III."

What came next occurred like a blur, and Lily found herself reciting the oath as if she were a trained machine. It wasn't until Ellison started questioning her that she realized that it was time for her to come up with her own unique answers.

"Miss Evans, in your own words, please tell the jury exactly what happened the night Gregory Avery attempted to murder you and your friends," Ellison said strongly, his eyes piercing into her as he spoke.

Lily took a deep breath and tried to look at James in the crowd. It was too dark though, and she couldn't make out a single face. She then directed her attention back toward Ellison, whose eyes seemed to soften as he realized her nervousness.

"Where do you want me to start?" she asked softly.

"Wherever you need to," Ellison replied.

"It started out an ordinary day," Lily began, averting her eyes so that she wasn't making eye contact with anyone. "We were all seated in class-- I believe it was Potions class-- when a younger student came into the room with a note from Professor Dumbledore asking James to see him in his office. At the time, I didn't really think a lot about it… it wasn't too uncommon MSOffice5 ."

"Is this really relevant?" the judge cut in.

Lily looked up at the judge, surprised by his words. She then glanced out to the crowd and saw Ellison's face, encouraging her to carry on. She turned her attention to Avery, locked away in his steel cage. He had a smug look across his face, despite the fact that he was being tried for murder. Suddenly, she felt a stronger hatred for Avery than she ever had before. She wanted nothing more than to wipe that look off his dirty, gruff looking face. At that moment, she knew why James and Sirius were excited to attend the trial and she felt that excitement pass through her as well.

"Yes, it is relevant," Lily boldly replied, looking up at the judge as she spoke.

"Carry on then," he instructed.

"As I was saying, James was asked to see Professor Dumbledore. After that, I didn't see him at lunch or dinner. By the end of the day, Sirius and I realized he wasn't on castle grounds anymore. He was gone. We went to Professor Dumbledore the moment we discovered that he wasn't at Hogwarts, only to find out that James's parents had been murdered. I remember feeling as if all the life I possessed was slipping away from me. I couldn't believe it had happened, and they weren't even my parents. MSOffice6 …" Lily continued with her story, spilling everything she'd ever thought about the incident. She told them of her frustrations, her sorrows, and her longing for everything to get better. She knew she didn't need to speak it all, but couldn't help herself. The words were flowing from her lips like an unstoppable force.

"Then we came back to the barn," Lily recalled. She stopped speaking for a moment and stared directly at Avery. The smug look was replaced by boredom. It disgusted her. He didn't give a damn about what happened to the Potters or the immense pain he put the three Hogwarts students through. All that mattered was his precious Lord Voldemort. She despised him.

"It might have been my nerves, but I could tell something wasn't right. Sirius assured me everything was fine, but I was still jumpy. Every little sound made my heart pound. Then, I heard his voice, but couldn't see him. I knew he was somewhere above my head, and I didn't dare light my wand. Then, there was a flash of bright light and Avery and Mulciber appeared, both wearing dark cloaks.

"They talked to us for a little bit… about their job concerning Gerald and Linda Potter. They told us exactly how they murdered them, and said that they were only telling us because they didn't expect there to be any survivors in the barn that night.…" Lily told the courtroom every detail about that night, down to the spooky sounds she heard. She recalled every spell, every curse, and every move they made.

Once she finished her story, she looked back at Avery again. He still looked bored. He didn't care about her story. In his mind, it didn't concern him. He knew he couldn't win this tale. The only way he would ever get away with his crime would be through blabbing about the whereabouts of other Death Eaters.

"Thank you, Miss Evans," Ellison finally said. "I have no other questions."

Lily took that as a sign she could leave and hastily made her way back to her seat. She could hear Ellison ask Sirius to the stand and felt him brush past her as he walked to the middle of the room.

"You okay?" James whispered once Lily was settled back into her seat.

"Yeah," she whispered back.

"Are you sure?"

"It was really scary," she admitted.

"You did a good job."

"Thanks."

With that said, James placed his handMSOffice7 on her thigh, assuring her that he was still with her. It was the only thing keeping her calm. Despite the fact that she wanted to be at the trial, her nerves were still tense. Everything about the room made her nervous. She barely listened to Sirius's testimony at all; she was concentrating too hard on regaining herself.

James was asked to testify next and sat in the witness bench far longer than any of the other students. Still, he remained calm throughout the entire ordeal. He was asked more questions too, and he answered them all with complete honesty… well, almost all of them. Before the trial, James and Sirius had gone over what they were going to say concerning the werewolf aspect of their testimony. They decided it would be best to lie and say that they were all out for a midnight run around Hogsmeade, just out to break some rules. They reckoned that it would be a believable story to say that they were heading out to the old shack for some simple mischief that would get them into trouble at school.

Finally, Ellison turned on Avery himself, allowing James to return to his seat. "Gregory Avery, do you deny any of what was charged against you?"

"No," Avery sharply said.

"Very well," the judge remarked. "Do you have anything to say?"

"You don't understand what it's like to be around _him_," Avery replied, suddenly sounding like a wounded puppy. "I didn't have any control over what I was doing… If I hadn't killed the Potters, You-Know-Who would have killed me."

"Likely story," Ellison interrupted. "I've heard every single one of you say that." His voice was louder than before, as if he were trying his very hardest not to yell at Avery.

"But it's true," Avery shrieked. "_He _has great power over me. _He_ threatened to kill me if I didn't do it. And _he _said that if I left any survivors I wouldn't live to see daylight."

"Yet you're still alive today," Ellison bitterly remarked. "And _you_ killed the Potters, not _him. _It was you! It doesn't matter that it was under You-Know-Who's bidding. You were the one to say that dreadful curse. You carried out the Unforgivable Curse MSOffice8 ."

"But… but… I'm sorry," Avery yelled. "I didn't mean to do it. It was beyond my power."

"Likely story," Ellison shouted back.

There was a sudden uproar from the audience as everyone discussed the issue at hand. The judge was growing frustrated and yelled, "Order, order." His mallet struck the wooden surface with a loud bang, causing all of the talk to stop at once.

"Jury, please write guilty, not guilty, or uncertain down on the piece of paper in front of you. Once finished, fold it in half so your vote can be tallied," the judge said.

Lily watched in amazement. The wizarding system was bizarre compared to the Muggle version of a courtroom. Yet, she was certain it must take much less time this way.

Less than two minutes later, the judge hammered his mallet against the wooden surface again, calling everyone's attention. "The jury has come to the verdict… Gregory Avery is guilty as charged and shall serve a life sentence in Azkaban."

"No, wait," Avery screamed. "I have names for you; I'm sure I do. Please don't make me go there."

"We're listening," the judge impatiently said.

Avery didn't say anything for a moment, contemplating which names he should give the courtroom.

Lily stared at him, puzzled by the scene in front of her. She leaned over to James and whispered, "What's going on?"

"If he can give the judge an adequate number of names of Death Eaters, they'll investigate his charges further. And if the names are true, they'll lighten the sentence," he replied.

"Edward Polaris," Avery announced.

"He was caught last week," the judge icily replied.

"Saxby," Avery said.

"He has been in Azkaban for the past month."

"Zeakle," he said, a sense of urgency present in his voice.

"We've known about him for months," the judge snapped. "Now, if you cannot tell us anymore information…."

"Wait!" Avery shouted. "I might know something about Mulciber."

"Go on," the judge pressed.

"He… he said something about another task…"

"Is that all you have to offer?" the judge shouted. "Guards, take him to Azkaban."

"No! Wait!" he yelled again. "It's about Muggles, that's all I know. He said there was going to be another attack on Muggles."

"Take him away," the judge ordered.

The two guards pulled Avery out from the steel cage and roughly grabbed him by the wrists, slipping handcuffs onto him. Avery was screaming throughout the process, begging for another chance. The judge only turned a cold shoulder on him, not listening to another word. Avery's screams could be heard for minutes following his departure. Then, all of a sudden, they stopped. He was on his way to Azkaban.

As the wizards and witches in the courtroom began to disperse, Lily felt a chill go down her spine. Avery's pleads were echoing in her head.

"You okay, Lils?" James asked. It was just the two of them at that moment; Dumbledore needed to speak with the Minister of Magic and Sirius spotted the only uncle in the entire Black family that he liked.

"Yeah, it's just, well, it's really scary," she admitted.

He shook his head in agreement, but didn't say a word.

"Do you think what he said was right, about going after Muggles?"

"I don't know."

* * *

**Author's Note 2: **Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! Sorry about the long wait, I promise the next chapter won' take nearly two months to come out. Please review! 


	52. The End of an Era

**Author's Note:** Sorry it took so long to write/post this, but I didn't feel inspired until now for some reason. Also, thanks so all who have reviewed this story, I really appreciate it! Now, on with the story!

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The next few weeks passes by quickly for Lily, James and the rest of the gang. Between classes, studying for their NEWT examinations and a new attack in the _Daily Prophet_ nearly every other day, there was hardly time for anything. Before they knew it, exams were over and only one final day remained at Hogwarts.

"I can't believe it's over," Lily said. She was lying in the grass near the Great Lake with James, staring up as the clouds drifted away.

"Stop saying that," James moaned as he rolled over onto his stomach. He pulled out a blade of grass from the ground and began to rip it into tiny pieces.

"But it's true," she argued.

"But I don't want to think about it."

"Fine," she said and rolled onto her stomach as well. She grabbed the newspaper from her bag. On the front page the headline read "You-Know-Who Strikes Again."

James glanced at the paper and sighed, "For a beautiful June day, this really depressing. I mean, we're leaving Hogwarts tomorrow. Another muggle was attacked yesterday, and that's the world we're heading off into."

"It sucks."

"Yes it does," he agreed.

"So let's not talk about it then," Lily suggested and tucked the paper back into her bag. She rolled back over again and stared up at the clouds before pointing upward and asking, "Does that one look like Sirius to you?"

He looked up and laughed, "You're off your rocker, you know that? It's just a cloud."

"No, I'm not kidding. It is so him. See it? There are the eyes, the grin, and the long hair. It's Sirius Black," Lily insisted.

"Jeez, always talking about me, Lils. James, mate, you'd best watch your back," a new voice said. Sirius walked over and stood above the young couple, blocking the sun from their eyes."

"Shut up, Sirius," Lily joked.

"You say that now, but we all know you love me."

"Don't flatter yourself," she joked.

"What's up?" James asked, now sitting up.

"Just wanted to make sure we're still on for tonight," Sirius answered, a new serious tone in his voice.

"Of course we are."

"Good, see you then. In the mean time, control your girlfriend, I think she's making a pass at me," he joked.

"Go away," she whined as she shot him a fake angry look. She then turned toward James and asked what on earth they were planning on doing.

"Can't say," he replied. "It's a Marauder thing."

Knowing that it wasn't worth the effort to force it out of him, she let it go and simply ignored that fact that the Marauders were probably doing something against school rules later that night. Instead, she opted to enjoy the remaining time she had with James at Hogwarts. After all, who knew when she would see him next?

"That one definitely looks like a lion," James suddenly said, pointing to the sky.

"No, not a lion. It looks like a dog, you're just blind."

"I'm not blind," he said and rolled closer to her. He propped himself up on his elbows and smiled down at her. He placed a light kiss on her lips and smiled at her again.

---

Later that night, once Lily and James each went their separate ways, James and the rest of the Marauders set out on one last adventure. They packed up their necessary supplies and grabbed the invisibility cloak and map before setting out into the night once again.

The castle was dead that night. They could have easily made it outside without the map or cloak. Once out of the castle, they lugged the giant chest and shovels toward their favorite tree, right by the lake. Once there, Sirius dropped his half of the chest on the ground with a loud thud, which was followed by shushing from the three other boys.

James threw the cloak on the ground and looked at his three best friends. He tossed a shovel to each of them and said, "Here we go." He was the first to move forward and force his shovel into the ground. He stepped on the edge of the blade, forcing it into the ground. He then put all his effort into lugging the grass and dirt into a small mound. The other three boys each followed suit. They spent nearly an hour digging until it was finally large and deep enough. Next, James and Sirius lifted the chest into the ground, the lid still open.

Meanwhile, Remus and Peter conjured a small fire, using magic to keep it hidden from the distance of the castle. It provided just enough light to make out each of the four boys faces.

"Boys," James began, "We've known each other for the past seven years, some may even say that they were seven sacred years. At the end of our first year, we made a pact to join together on the last night ever at Hogwarts and celebrate our lives as the Marauders. So, we are gathered here to do just that… Sirius, you go first."

Sirius produced what appeared to be a muggle water gun from his robes and threw it into the chest. "This is from our first prank," he explained. "Those Slytherins never saw it coming."

Next, Remus threw in a photograph of the four of them. "The only friends who ever accepted my secret."

Peter then tossed in the written instructions about how to get into the kitchen late at night for a midnight snack, something the fours boys did more than once during their time at school.

Next, James took the Marauder's map out of his cloak pocket. For one last time, he said, "Mischief Managed" and the ink from the paper disappeared from sight. He tossed it into the chest with their other sacred belongings.

The ceremony continued deep into the night. They all took turned throwing tidbits of their lives into the chest. It became filled with old prank supplies, pictures, and Sirius even put in ten galleons with a note attached for directions to treat them all to butterbeers whenever the chest was opened next.

Finally, once all of their most treasured belongings were inside the chest, the closed the lid. With a magical enchantment, the boys made a pact, one that would last their entire lives. The chest was to be opened in exactly ten years. They would all know when and where to come, a nagging feeling in their stomachs would ensure this. However, if any of them ever broke their friendship pact in any way, the chest would resurface by itself and be exposed for anyone to see.

"This is it then," Remus said as he looked down at the closed chest. He couldn't see it now, but he knew that a large M was placed on the top of the chest. Surrounding it was engraved sketches of a wolf, dog, stag, and a rat.

"You know, it's kind of like the end of the Marauder age," Sirius said after they finished moving the dirt back onto the chest and were wandering back toward the castle. "No more Hogwarts."

"What is this school going to do without us?" Peter wondered aloud.

"Well, the teachers are going to have a little bit of peace and quiet," Sirius joked.

"Really though, do you think anyone will ever live up to the Marauder name?" Peter asked.

"No," Remus answered. "No one can ever duplicate us, that's why we're the Marauders."

"Yeah, this is it. This is the end of an era," James said. They walked back to the castle in silence, all lost in their own worlds. No one wanted it to be true, but it was the end of an era. They were leaving their safe haven of Hogwarts behind and advancing on towards the real life, filled with war.

Once back in their room, James decided he had one last thing to do that night. He grabbed his broom and opened the bedroom window, with just barely enough room to squeeze out, he flew out into the open sky.

He flew low to the ground at first, searching the ground for the perfect stone. Once he found it, he raced upward, knowing exactly where he needed to be. Knowing he only had one shot at this, he took the stone and hauled it at the window. He saw the formerly dark room instantly become bright.

The window then opened and Lily hissed, "Who's there?"

"Who do you think it is?"

"James, you nearly gave me a heart attack. You know my bed is right next to this window," she said.

"I know, but I wanted to see you," he replied.

"Wait a minute," she said and disappeared from his sight. She reappeared again, although her pajamas were replaced by jeans and a t-shirt.

"Want some help?" he asked as he hovered next to the window.

"Yeah," she answered as she snuck out of the window and onto his broom. They had done this so often that she was no longer afraid of the dangerous drop below them. She trusted James to help her out the window and onto his broom.

Once safely on the broom, clutching him from behind with all her might, they began to fly into the night sky. The air felt refreshing against Lily's skin and crisp in her lungs. Her grip eventually loosened and without saying a word, they flew over the Forbidden Forest and above the castle for nearly an hour before settling down in the Quidditch Pitch.

They sat on the very top row of the stands and watched as the sun started to rise. It must have been about five o'clock in the morning, but neither of them cared at that moment. The scene in front of them was amazing; the sky was a brilliant mixture of orange, red, yellow and blue.

Lily leaned her head on James's shoulder and said, "What am I going to do without you?"

"You're not going to be without me," he whispered and cupped her face in his hand. "I promise."

"I'm still scared."

"So am I."

"Really?"

"Just don't tell anyone," he smirked.

A few moments of silence passed before Lily said once again, "I know you've told me a million times that we'll still see each other all the time and everything will work out…"

"And it will," he said, interrupting her.

"But…"

"Live with me," he said, once again cutting her off mid-sentence.

Lily was at a loss for words. She couldn't tear her eyes from him, trying to find some aspect of a joke, but could not find a single trace of it. He was being sincere about this. He wanted to live with her.

"James," she began. "It's more complicated than that."

"I already asked your parents if it was okay."

"What?"

"I sent them a letter and they agreed. And Sirius and Remus are going to live together, that's been their plan for the past month," he calmly said, despite his rapidly beating heart.

"How long have you had this planned?"

"Since that day in the Hospital Wing," he answered. "You don't have to though, if you don't want to, I'd completely understand. I mean, it's a lot to ask of you."

To stop his rambling, Lily leaned forward and kissed him sweetly on the lips. "Yes," she said as she pulled away from him. "I would love to live with you."

James grinned at her and she smiled back at him. As they watched the sunrise together, hand in hand, they both knew that it truly was the end of an era, but it wasn't the end; it was only the beginning of something new.

_THE END_

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**Author's Note 2:** Hope you enjoyed the story! Please review!


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